Spirit Eater
by WhiteFangofWar
Summary: What began as a quest to seek forgiveness from a friend will become another life or death conflict for Ichigo Kurosaki, against an enemy created only to eradicate all things spiritual.  Multiple romances later.  Rated for swears and violence, R&R!
1. Part 1: Unforgiven

Disc: Bleach is the intellectual property of Tite Kubo.

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><p>"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind."<br>**-John F. Kennedy**

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><p><strong>Bleach: Spirit Eater<strong>

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><p><em>Part 1- Unforgiven<em>

He had become a Shinigami, a God of Death.

He had fought a hundred battles against ruthless enemies beyond anything most humans dreamt of, and won most of them.

But still, Ichigo Kurosaki felt more than a few jitters as he stepped out onto the staid stone platform of the 'Old' Karakura station.

Flanking the single track on both sides, the place's iron framework spoke of times gone by. Trains were few and far between; Karakura Town was no great hub of commerce. Its biggest factor would be lost on the living- a high concentration of spirit energy, or 'Reiatsu' to go with its far higher-than-average concentration of ghosts... and to go with _that_, a higher-than-average population of their evil inverse, the Hollows.

Brushing his orange top back, the teen did not sense any Hollows at all right now. A welcome time of peace had descended on his home town for the moment, or perhaps even they had sleeping patterns. This early in the day only a handful of people were at the platform, most of them commuters trying to get out to some other city with more jobs.

And that was to his regret, for he had only just bought his own ticket and stepped through the turnstile when a familiar voice called to him: "Kurosaki-kun!"

He could see her waving from there, long hair nearly same shade of orange as his own, and a mauve T-shirt that did little to hide a 'pronounced' chest. Beside her was a hulking teen with a mop of dark brown hair across his wary eyes and toned skin suggesting Spanish ancestry somewhere along his line.

_Damn. _Not for the first time he found himself torn between annoyance and admiration for his friends. On one hand, this was something he'd wanted to do alone from the start. On the other, how dedicated did they have to be to get up this early and follow him to the station? "You guys..."

"You cannot go alone", the brown-haired teen spoke as they also stepped across the 'stile, sounding strangely intense compared to his usual. "This is a big problem. Isn't it, Ichigo?"

"That's right, Chad", he admitted, calmly fishing out the money to pay for two more tickets. His family's clinic didn't exactly pay huge, but his lifestyle wasn't expensive- he'd saved up allowance money until something like this happened. "I wouldn't go running off to Naruki City like this if it wasn't important."

"Without us?", Orihime Inoue asked, sounding hurt in that special way that may have been the only way to make him regret his decision. "Tatsuki-chan's our friend too! That's what this is about, isn't it? She wasn't in school for three whole days! So I went over to her house and no one was there. Then I checked her fridge, and it was full of uneaten food! So?"

"That's exactly right", he sighed. "Geez... I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"You should not have to, Ichigo", Chad insisted, stretching one beefy arm in support, the arm that in battle would be cowled in a powerful gauntlet. "We are friends. You should not hide this from us. You say it's a big problem? Then let us help."

"Alright", he threw up his hands in surrender. To his left, the warning whistle of the train drew everyone's heads for a moment. "I guess I should start from the top. Because it's _my_ fault that Tatsuki's disappeared."

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><p>"From the top", Sado 'Chad' Yasutora nodded in the morning sunlight once they had settled into a car, and everyone- everyone being Orihime for now- had ordered a large breakfast. "What makes you say it is your fault?"<p>

Ichigo palmed his hair again, and both his friends exchanged alarmed looks, both beginning to realize that this was much more than just their friend's usual resistance to talking about things that were bugging him.

"It's been coming down for a while now. I just didn't want to face it. Ever since we started making up excuses for when we had to go defeat a Hollow or something like that, Tatsuki knew something was up. Time after time she asked me to tell her what the hell was going on, to let her help..." He broke off sardonically, watching the eyes of his friends for recognition. "But I didn't."

This wasn't news to them. All three remembered well the fiery, marine blue-haired girl who had played the unofficial 'anti-bully' of Karakura High whenever Ichigo wasn't around, even if only he had known her since preschool. They had all seen how frustrated and broken-up she had been whenever they ran off to deal with some Shinigami-related crisis, without telling anyone why.

"Tatsuki was sad", Chad noted dourly, perhaps regretting not telling her himself.

"But didn't she figure it out?", Orihime asked. "Don Kanonji told me about that 'Karaku-Raiser Team' that she was part of..."

"Kanonji-san told her", Ichigo explained, remember his last conversation with the 'spirit medium'. "A total stranger treated her with more trust and respect than we did. After that... she just stopped asking. In fact, she barely even spoke to me after that. I wanted to try and apologize to her, but I..."

They both understood at once. No matter how powerful their friend became, human nature was human nature- it was like walking through burning coals to approach a friend and ask forgiveness, whether you were a guy or a girl, a human or Shinigami.

"And then Tatsuki-chan disappeared", Orihime picked up. "With no sign of where she went?"

"One sign. She has relatives living in Naruki."

The two mulled that over. Neither needed to point out how thin a lead it was. "And you didn't ask anyone else for help? Come on."

"We don't know if it's something related to Hollows or Shinigami", he pointed out. "She might have just run away from home- she did that one time. Almost got across the town border too. There's only one person outside of Karakura Town who's close enough to take her in." Reaching into his considerably lighter wallet, he produced a low-quality photo of a balding man with a crisp silver mustache and a large chin. He shared the same sharp eyes as Tatsuki though. "Matoba Arisawa, her uncle."

"Looks friendly", Orihime offered tenderly. They all shared the same suspicion that this man would have something to do with it. "What's he do? Is he a chef? Is he a mail man? A mechanic? A TV Star? A-"

"He's a doctor", he cut her off before she could go on to list her other favourite careers. "Or was. He's semi-retired now, just sits around his home in the _Bashi_ district."

"Don't, Ichigo", Chad looked at him. "You want to confront him about this. You are still angry. You'll smash Dr. Arisawa's door down, yell your questions in his face, and get nowhere."

He wished he could have laughed at that crazy picture. Were the situation not pressing down on him like a great anvil, he _would _have laughed. "What makes you think that?"

"Because", his friend said simply. "I have the same desire."

Orihime Inoue hated silent tension, particularly between friends. Desperate to break it, she threw one hand up. "Uhmmm. I still have some tasty apple cinnamon cakes here Kurosaki-kun, would you like to have...?"

"You can't take this on yourself, Ichigo", Chad cut in. "The people who took Tatsuki are the ones to blame. Not you."

"Yeah", he scratched his hair absently. "I guess you're right. Let's get them. Together."

The first jolt threw Ichigo from his seat, spilling apple cakes everywhere along with everyone's bags. It had come so suddenly and so strong he doubted even his Shinigami reflexes could have saved him. On that note, he reaching into his pocket for the special badge that was the key to those powers- looking for it in combat and coming up empty would be as embarrassing as it would be fatal.

Craning his neck, he realized the car had been tilted at an angle. Everyone was in a panic about the sudden jolt that had brought the train to a halt, and he could see the way several of the windows had cracked from the strain. _Damn... What the hell was that?_

The second jolt blew the entire car wide open. It also dashed any hopes he might have had that it had been a mere accident. No- this was an attack. With the car now nearly at a 90-degree twist, he made sure to clutch his Shinigami badge _before_ leaping up through the shattered window above. For the first time in a while he felt the strange tingling that meant his soul was leaving his body behind in the car, where hopefully Orihime and Chad could keep anyone from freaking out over it.

_Actually... _That had been more than a little odd that he hadn't felt anything at all. Any Shinigami or Hollow could assault the train like this, but with both of those he would at least _feel_ the surge of spiritual energy before it hit them. He hadn't felt a thing. None of them had.

There was no time to dwell on it now. His target was before him. The culprit was a young man with dusty hide garments that fit much better in the deserted countryside than Ichigo's own black Shinigami coat; leggings and a zipper jacket connected by shades of teal. Skin the same approximate shade as Chad's made his braided white hair stand out even more than normal. The man's eyes, however, would never be seen on his friend Sado, so sharp and cruel were they.

"Damn", the attacker surmised in an Osakan dialect. "Off by only one. Not my lucky day. Zatsua's gonna have my head for this."

"Shut up!", the Shinigami barked from the dislodged car, already irked by the man's callousness. He did not need to look to the train car which had actually been hit to sense the damage- there were a half dozen souls in the smoking wreckage ahead of them that were already going from fear to acceptance to quiet to nothingness. "You killed those people just to get us?"

The attacker shrugged at the damage- none of the cars had escaped unscathed. "One in six. A bet worth taking, I'd say. It'll save my friends a lot of stress down the line. Thanks for coming out of there, by the way. Makes things easier."

"Yeah right", he scowled, already grasping _Zangetsu_'s bandaged hilt_. _"For you and every other pathetic punk who picks on the weak. What the hell are you anyway? Arrancar? A Bount?"

The thug only looked more amused. "Not much use in tellin' someone who's gonna be dead soon, odds are." Grasping his right arm with his left, he spread that dusty palm before Ichigo as delicately as a sword master's own weapon. "Here... _This_ is what I am."

Fire swept out from the palm, too fast to dodge and too hot to be anything but Hell's own.

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><p>AN: I suppose I should outline the history of this for anyone who cares. A few months ago I tried my first multi-chapter Bleach fiction, Bleach Millenium, dealing with a future Soul Society and a war between two factions of it. It was also my first attempt at including reviewer-submitted OCs but lack of interest and submissions has led me to delete it and replace with this one. It is closer to home so to speak, using the original characters though I might be able to use a few submissions yet for both good and evil characters.

The same ideas and themes I had planned for Millenium will appear here. As such, the JFK quote I put at the top might not seem to have any connection to the story yet, but that will change as things get crazier and the new enemy is revealed. Hope you enjoy!


	2. Part 2: Matoba's Tale

Part 2: Matoba's Tale

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><p>Ichigo Kurosaki had always intellectually defied what some people described as a 'thug's face' by being a good student. But he had never bothered learning the exact science behind the personalized Shinigami weapons called 'Zanpaktou'.<p>

He didn't need to. All that was important now was that _Zangetsu'_s metal was strong enough to block and stand up to the amount of searing heat the enemy was pumping out, deflecting it away from him and more importantly, away from anyone else here who might get burned. _Zangetsu_ could a demanding taskmaster at times. The Zanpaktou demanded that he always strive for victory no matter the circumstances, or else its loyalty and great power would abandon him.

Not that he would have it any other way. Surrender? _ Never_. Particularly when it was clear that this guy was a rank amateur- no follow-up attack came after the stream of fire. The white-haired man just stood there and watched the massive fire blast held by _Zangetsu_ and blasted off into the sky before detonating.

Wide open, but he still managed get his weapon up in time. He nearly lost focus then- the man's 'weapon' was really nothing but a file of iron that looked like it had been carefully sharpened. Insultingly crude, but the guy held it with Shinigami-level strength, and expertise in both hands. "A railroad spike?", he asked after disengaging. "Seriously?"

The young man shrugged. "'S a hobby of mine. Gimme any bit of metal and some time and I can improve on it. I burn off the fat, make it sharper. That clunky Zanpaktou of yours, f'rinstance..."

The Shinigami scoffed, driving at his foe again and again. "No thanks. I wouldn't trust an enemy to reforge my sword." _So he knows all about the Soul Society. I don't see a mask fragment, and his power is coming from _him_, not a Doll. Weird! _"Besides, my swordisn't clunky. Isn't that right, _Tensa Zangetsu_?"

He swore he could see the knowing smile of his deathly pale inner Hollow for only a moment. Truly, the man's observation wasn't entirely unfounded. Normally, Ichigo's blade was a huge thing of curving black iron that looked painful just to lift, never mind swing well. Normally. With only a flicker of black fire, the weapon now transformed itself into a far more traditional one- a solid black katana with a bent-cross guard at its hilt.

"Better", the flame-user had to admit. He actually looked eager at the sight of the new weapon. "A Bankai?"

He didn't bother saying _yes_. The renewed speed in his attacks was answer enough, far faster than his foe could keep up. In moments the railroad spike was knocked flying from his hands, and only sporadic flares of the same fire he had struck the train with keeping Ichigo from simply cutting him open. "Enough", he commanded. "Give it up now, and I'll just take you prisoner."

He could feel his own heart roaring in protest against _that_ offer, of course. This guy had killed humans for sport, and he was clearly just as dangerous as a powerful Hollow. He was a murderer that no human court of law could hold and sentence.

All the same, he could already hear the reprimands of Soul Society's leaders if he chose to act on his initial impulse and simply cut him down. It would be better in the long-term if he could bring this guy in, question him about what and who he was, and more importantly where Tatsuki was.

For a moment, the flame-user looked like he might make a dash for the spike, but it was clear Ichigo's Bankai-enhanced speed had shocked him. "This is just the start", Ichigo reminded him grimly. "There's about a half-dozen other attacks I haven't tried on you yet. The last thing I want to do is kill a human, if that's what you really are."

"Fine", the thug said at last, raising his hands in mock defeat. "Whatever. Are y'gonna take me to the Soul Society?"

"That's the plan, yeah." The 13 Court Guard squads could deal with him while he resumed the hunt. Though exactly how he was going to send his prisoner there was something he hadn't considered...

The man looked overjoyed at the prospect, and shot out one hand. On the exposed arm, Ichigo spotted an odd black tattoo- two tall triangles nestled against a hollow dot, forming a kind of tower. "Great. Hey... Sorry about all the fuss before, buddy. I'm just doin' my job is all. Care to shake on it?"

His palm showed no hint of threat, but still Ichigo wavered. _TRAP. Has to be a trap. _

"C'mon. Just to show there's no hard feelings?"

He smiled disparagingly."What? So you can shoot fire out of your hand and burn me again? No thanks, creep."

"Damn. For a second there I thought you'd really do it."

"Dirty trick", Ichigo growled at him. "You're a real bastard all right." Looking around at the wreckage, he slowly remembered that in his Shinigami form no one but Chad and Orihime would see him. They had to be wondering what the heck had happened, and in this case he couldn't exactly walk up and ask for some rope.

Looking back at his prisoner, he picked up the dagger-spike, bending it lengthwise with his strength until it was capable of enclosing the man's hands behind his back. If he ignited his hands now, all he would do is burn himself. "There. That should keep you out of trouble until I can contact someone in Soul Society to pick you up. I'm not used to taking prisoners really."

And indeed, he could feel Zangetsu's scorn for his decision. Better to kill him, the blade seemed to whisper in his ear. Eliminate the threat he represents. Until that happens, you haven't really won.

He ignored it. He was still the rider here,_ not_ the horse. _He_ would decide what to do.

"Hey... buddy. My hands are falling asleep here, could you loosen these? Just a little bit?"

"Shut up! I'm not your buddy! My name's Ichigo!"

The thug's eyes widened along with his creepy grin. "Oh, so you're Ichigo Kurosaki! Wow. What're the odds, eh? I always wanted so much to meet you..." He winked innocently. "Tatsuki-chan's told us so very much about you."

Rage overtook him for only a moment, but it was enough. Eyes burning, he grabbed the man's arms violently. "YOU...!"

He felt weak. Weak and getting weaker, and by the time he looked down to see the cause he was too weak to fight it- both the man's hands gripping his arms tight. "What the...? How...?"

"Hungry", the man said cryptically. Orihime and Chad were running, but neither was close enough to stop this yet. His arms were ice, his body a block of lead... "Wow. You've got a lot of _Reiatsu_, don'cha? Heheheh."

He could not resist. His vision blurred, graying out as the man dropped him and he fell into the dust. The flame-user was laughing still, glorying in the way the Shinigami's strength was being drained. "Ha ha ha... Oh man...! Would you just look at this idiot... ha... haha... seriously...! I think I might... actually die of laughter here...!"

Finally, he was spent. It was all he could do to turn his head from the ground and see the fear in Orihime's eyes. The resolve in Chad's as he prepared to fight. "No..." Sado couldn't win. Not with that thug restored to full power and more. "Don't!"

But the flame-user seemed intrigued by his friends own unique powers, particularly after the familiar orange light of Orihime's _Soten Kisshu_ covered his drained body, protecting it with a forcefield apparently generated by flying hair decs. "Not Shinigami", he noted, puzzled, though still periodically chortling at Ichigo. "But you both have interesting spiritual powers."

Chad wasn't in the mood to banter. "Stop hurting Ichigo. Leave this place now!"

"It's my lucky day", he announced as the fires returned to his palms, ready to sear into the huge gauntlet Chad used for his left arm's weapon. "More food for me, even if neither of you have what that Shinigami has."

_Thunk._

Ichigo struggled to turn his head. Something had stuck itself into the ground to halt the man's advance along with Chad's. Something next to the thug's foot. Something small and shining, but with energy disproportionate to its size.

Something like a metal arrow. "_Sprenger_", he mumbled weakly. "Nice shot, Uryu."

"Coming from you Ichigo", a new voice, formal but proud, called from nowhere. No one could even tell where he'd made the shot from. "That's a compliment. I have to be this good to cover _your_ mistakes."

Then, when the flame-user began to move again; "I wouldn't do that if I were you. That _Sprenger_ goes off if anyone increases the concentration of _Reiatsu_ in that area. Attack, and you blow up. Surrender, and you don't. So... what's it going to be?"

The white-haired man froze only a moment before making his decision, using the strength he'd somehow drained to destroy Ichigo's improvised shackles. "Come to Naruki City, Shinigami. See the sights. Bring your friends. I'd lay wager you won't be disappointed."

He laughed madly at Ichigo one last time, and then _ignited_. The pentagram-shaped detonation went off just as Uryu Ishida had promised, blowing everyone clear with a thunderous gout of dirt and knocking Ichigo face-first into a rock.

His last thought before blacking out was how in the world the Quincy had known to follow him.

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><p>"-was that?"<p>

"-looked like he was-"

"-Okay?"

Eyes open, Ichigo sat up and looked at his friends. He felt tired. Very tired. So tired he might have fallen back to sleep if Orihime hadn't braced him with her hands. _What the hell. I didn't use_ that_ much energy fighting that guy._

"We were worried for a moment", their last-minute addition spoke up, Uryu Ishida tilting his glasses to hide his own look of concern as usual. _Wordy and arrogant as ever._ "Or at least these two were. Any ideas who that was?"

He looked glum. "Nothing. All I know is... he had a hand in Tatsuki's disappearance."

The blue-haired Quincy sighed. "Never a peaceful moment. I noticed that too, but I didn't think anything was wrong until I noticed you skipping town. What did he do to you, Ichigo? You look like you haven't slept in days."

Automatically feeling along his face, he soon knew that Uryu spoke the truth- his eyes now had disturbingly large bags under them, and his skin had been paled two shades. The only silver lining was that he'd somehow returned to his human body despite being down for the count. None of the other passengers were bothering the four of them yet, more concerned with how they were going to return home- he could see many cell phones out and in use.

"Something drained?", Uryu guessed when his friend lacked the strength to formulate an idea. "I could sense his power surging to incredible levels-"

"Yeah. That's right." Groaning, he rolled over so no one might see him in this state. That was what he had felt leaving him, and what he was missing now. Even in human state, he felt like hurling "Spiritrons. That's what they're called, right?"

"So you _do_ pay attention. That man must be able to absorb them through skin contact."

"Damned dirty trick", he found the energy to fume. "I was kicking his butt before that happened."

"No doubt." For once, there wasn't any mockery in the Quincy's tone. He must have really looked terrible. "For now though, you need to rest. The energy he took from you should come back on its own, but it will take some time."

Then there was the sensation of large arms stronger than he grabbing him, carrying him. Looking down, he saw Chad's brown mop. He might have protested, but again lacked the energy. Sado wouldn't listen to him anyway. He couldn't have asked for better friends, but they were so overprotective sometimes...

"We'll walk. Naruki City isn't that far anyway. And yes, Orihime told me about why we're going there."

Sure enough, Ichigo did not even have enough time to take a good nap until he saw tall buildings on the horizon. Part of that had to do with the way Uryu kept pestering him with questions about the flame-user. How he had fought, what he had said, and the strange lack of any _Reiatsu_ at all until he'd touched Ichigo's skin. It was clear he was doing everything he could to prepare one of his fancy plans in case the flame-user decided to come at them again. _Wielding MY own power against us... I can't believe it._

"It isn't your fault, Kurosaki-kun", Orihime whispered to him as though reading his mind "We didn't know. I thought this was going to be a nice little trip to a big city."

He raised an eyebrow at this. "Having second thoughts?"

But her face remained strong. "Never. Tatsuki-chan is my friend too. Everything we did to save Rukia-chan, I'll do for her as well if we have to."

Which of course sent his imagination spiraling out of control as to what they might find in Naruki, but he refused to let that show. "Hey. Don't worry now. It's not like this city's gonna be full of Shinigami trying to stop us. They're just ordinary people like you and me."

Orihime chuckled at this, and he managed a weak laugh as well. Ordinary, them? Hardly. Each of his friends possessed some unique form of spiritual power that made them capable of taking down Hollows... Each of them could become subject to the same effect that had left him nearly powerless or worse, killed by the energy drain. _That won't happen. I _won't_ let it happen..._

His very body seemed to disagree with the notion of any such action and he at last yielded to another blackout. The better to regain his strength, and destroy whoever had been pulling the strings before they hurt another one of his friends.

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><p>Orihime Inoue had been accused of having an overactive imagination early on, and admitted full guilt on that score. Despite all the danger and risk she'd seen so far, it was a fight not to squeal at the way they were admitted to Dr. Matoba Arisawa's home.<p>

A dusty wooden door in the lowest portion of some grimy tenement off the crowded streets. Then, three knocks and a little piece of door sliding away to reveal frightened eyes. So close to her favorite awesome spy movies that it was shall she could do not to quote them at the man. Instead she let Uryu be the diplomat. He was boring in his talk as usual, but it didn't look to her like the old man could take much more excitement. He matched the picture almost perfectly, perhaps a bit more worn-looking and wearing a sky blue duster instead of a gray lab coat.

"Come inside, all of you", the doctor said, the fear prevalent in his voice as well. Inside, the furnishings and run-down brickwork only furthered the illusion that they might have been in Prague or some other city like that. Why did they choose those cities to film spy movies in anyway? Orihime didn't know, but it was fun to flop down on the room's couch and lie down, like they were being hunted by the bad guys.

_Careful_, that irksome bit of grounding in reality reminded her. It was more than likely they _were_ being hunted by bad guys. Bad guys like the kind who had done this to Ichigo, and who had destroyed a train loaded with innocents. Orihime swore she wouldn't let her imagination accidentally reveal them to the bad guys.

"Arisawa-sensei", Uryu bowed carefully. "Thank you for allowing us into your home. We are friends of your niece, Tatsuki. She disappeared from Karakura Town a few days ago, and we're concerned."

The doctor started back hard. It wasn't hard for her to see the family resemblance in their eyes, but this man also seemed considerably less stalwart than his spitfire niece. "You fool. What makes you think she would come here? I have not seen her in months."

"Still the closest thing to family she's got", Uryu replied, ignoring the insult. "More importantly, she has made certain... discoveries recently, which may have some connection to your field. Your field, which conveniently is left without any real details. All we figured out from looking is that you were a doctor, not in which field."

"I'm a retired old man who doesn't know a damned thing", he bristled, speaking rapidly. "And if you all know what's good for you you'll go home and forget you ever knew that girl."

"We can't do that", Chad said, careful not to seem threatening, as the man seemed the most afraid of him. "We came to rescue Tatsuki. We... it's become something of a habit for us. The point is, we look after our friends. _We_ are Tatsuki's family too."

"Your denial is quite specific", Uryu reasoned beside him, eyes ice cold behind his glasses. "Which means it's likely you _do_ know what's happened to Tatsuki and are trying to keep it from us. Why? Is someone threatening you?"

The doctor shrank back, but managed to come out of it after a moment. "You'd make an excellent lawyer, son."

"I'm a Quincy", he countered. "Does that mean something to you? Or what about the term, 'Shinigami', what about 'Hollow'?"

"Please, Arisawa-sensei", Orihime pleaded wide-eyed beside him, feeling the need to contribute. "We've come all this way. Don't you care about Tatsuki?"

"Whoever is threatening you", Chad gestured with his left arm. "We can handle them. We promise that no harm will come to you."

The four waited, Ichigo watching closely from the sofa though unable to articulate well just yet. If anything, the man looked more terrified than ever. "All right", he said at last. "Heaven help us all... or perhaps Soul Society. I never did figure that part out, though it doesn't look as though any of you children are Shinigami. That's good."

"Just Kurosaki-kun", Orihime confessed, pointing. No one wanted the doctor find that out at an inappropriate time. "He's a... 'substitute' Shinigami."

The doctor coughed. "Fascinating. But there will be time for that later. Shall I cut to the essentials, or do you wish me to start at the beginning?"

They looked around. No one could tell if a delay would hurt Tatsuki or not. "We'll take the long version", Uryu said gratefully, taking a seat of his own. "Information is the key to a successful strategy."

"He's right", Orihime couldn't help but tease. "You _are_ a good lawyer. Can't you see it? Doing the pose?" She pointed dramatically. "Objection!"

The Quincy looked annoyed by this comparison but did not take his eyes off the doctor. "So you do know of the Shinigami."

The doctor gave a curt nod. "The Shinigami, the Hollows, and everything in between, children. I first came into contact with a spiritual being oh, forty years ago. As you should know, that was the apex of the period known as the 'Cold War' in the realm of the living."

"We learned that in history class", Orihime noted. "Scary time, but it made for awesome spy movies."

"Scary indeed", the doctor confirmed. "Particularly for a country which had only recently become victim to the most devastating weapon in human history. The weapon which two colossal superpowers were now jabbing at each other like loaded guns, ready to fire on anyone they even considered to be a threat to them. I was one of the best and brightest minds brought together to give Japan some teeth of its own. As it turned out, it wasn't long before I happened upon something even more dangerous."

Unsure what he meant, Uryu gestured for him to continue without any further interruptions.

"The Shinigami who I met was there on a mission- to prevent the proliferation of nuclear arms leading to a worldwide armageddon. Already the Soul Society had been taxed to the limit dealing with the millions of wandering souls both Pluses and Hollows set loose in the recent wars. Another nuclear exchange would create too many for even the Shinigami to deal with. Too, the annihilation of the world of the living meant the gradual demise of the Soul Society."

Now he had them all scared enough not to interrupt, even if none of them were old enough to know those brutal past wars except in the history textbooks at school. "She was on the task force, using some spell to appear as a human in the world of the living", the doctor continued, eyes misting over with fond memories. "And despite all efforts by our superiors... we could not help ourselves. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever met, and the feeling was mutual. She could not help but reveal to me her true nature, and purpose."

Uryu frowned. "It sounds to me like this Shinigami was pretty irresponsible. That kind of union is forbidden."

The doctor merely smiled, crusted eyes narrowing. "Irresponsible, irascible, stubborn, and a few other things besides. But still I loved her. Even after she revealed herself, I loved her dearly. And the more I learned about the Soul Society and its Shinigami denizens, the more I worried that we were preparing ourselves against the wrong enemy."

To the shock of all, Uryu was the first to take offence, standing up and removing his glasses. "Arisawa-sensei, my friends here will all attest that I am no lapdog of the Shinigami. My kind were nearly wiped out because of them. But even I recognize that they would never attack the world of the living. They are your sworn guardians, the arbitrators of good and evil souls."

"I know", Arisawa raised one arm in defence. "I know that now. The Soul Society has existed for tens of thousands of years, and in all that time they made no aggressive moves against humanity. But my younger self... did not think like that. Neither did my superiors when I explained it to them, though at first they believed I'd gone crazy. Ghosts? Reapers of souls?" He gave a sardonic laugh that woke Ichigo once more. "It wasn't until they questioned my love that they knew the truth."

"Questioned...?" Chad's brown eyes widened in horror. "They didn't...!"

"The army couldn't hold onto a Shinigami", he explained, now tearful at the memory. "Certainly not one at Captain-level. But by torturing me, they got her to tell them everything they needed to know. And suddenly, there were_ two_ black ops projects underway to create deterrence."

"Deterrence". Uryu looked pale. "Something to counter the Shinigami if they ever did become a threat to humans. That's the way the nations of the world thought in those days; 'everyone's against you, you need to be ready for anything'."

"Precisely", the doctor replied gravely. "It was slow going even after they put me, the reigning expert on spiritual beings, on the task force. But after twenty years of painstaking research, we finally created a specimen with no flaws. Designed to exploit a Shinigami's innate weaknesses, and neutralize their strengths." Past ashamed, he looked over at Ichigo's surprised face, dread masking his features. "We called them _Ingenium Devora, o_r_ '_Spirit Eaters'."

"Spirit Eaters", Ichigo repeated, his mouth dry. Suddenly his legs no longer felt quite so heavy. "They absorb spiritrons into their bodies, right?"

"Yes. That is their life source. Indeed, they cannot live long without absorbing a bare minimum of _Reishi_ from any spiritual being through direct contact with the skin. That energy is digested, then released again as some form of paranormal ability."

"Like creating heat from your hands.", Ichigo said wearily. "We've met. But doc, _doc_... _what about Tatsuki-chan_? What does she have to do with all this?"

If possible, Arisawa looked even more ashamed. "Tatsuki... Tatsuki was the final straw. The thing that made me quit regardless of the consequences. She-"

A shriek of electronic alarms cut him off, and he dashed into his sparse kitchen. Rooting through drawers, he came out with a black plastic disk which was throbbing with red light. "No!", he shouted after a moment. "They're coming! You have to get out, now!"

The four stood, but the look on Uryu's face told Ichigo all he needed to know- they were surrounded. The wooden door burst into splinters, revealing a large man in the same teal jacket the flame-user had worn, and the same triangular tattoo mark on his right arm. "High spirit energy detected", the behemoth spoke in a low bass. "Shinigami located. Objective: Termination."

* * *

><p>AN: In contrast to my other active story I plan to have shorter chapters updated more frequently. Most of them will probably end on cliffhangers like this one. Props to my first two reviewers.


	3. Part 3: Nowhere to Run

Disc: Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.

* * *

><p>Part 3: Nowhere to Run<p>

* * *

><p>Sado 'Chad' Yasutora knew a threat when he saw one. He also knew that of all his friends, he was the best-suited for close-quarters battle against a large, brawny opponent like this one appeared to be.<p>

Most of all, and overriding any such detached observations; he could not let someone hurt them. Interposing himself between them was an instinctive reaction, not something he had to think about.

Then the behemoth hit, and he found himself flying, crashing into Matoba Arisawa's music collection. Vaulting to his feet, he studied the attacker more closely. He certainly fit the mold, with sleeved arms all the way down to his knees and a lumpy head. A flat top of bristly black hair made the man's tiny eyes look foreboding in their sockets, so though dull and lacking in emotion that he found himself unconsciously looking away from them.

"Shinigami located", he repeated just as mechanically as the first time. "Objective: Termination. Step aside, citizen."

Thankfully, it didn't look like Ichigo was going to throw himself at the enemy in such a weakened state. He had run over to the back of the room, where Dr. Arisawa had pried open an exit hidden behind his fridge. Orihime followed closely behind, and Uryu only stalled a moment before following suit.

_Good._ He could always count on the Quincy to think ahead for them. There was more than one Spirit Eater around the doctor's apartment. Uryu would be needed outside to ward off additional attackers as they focused in on Ichigo.

Which left just him and the glass-eyed behemoth trying to get to the rear exit before it closed. Lunging, he brought forth his weapon to block, the massive gauntlet called '_Brazo Derecha de Gigante_'.

"YOU", he grunted out mid-struggle. "...Are not the only giant!"

That said, the Spirit Eater was considerably larger than himself, and had the strength to back it up in his strikes. "Interference will not be tolerated. Step aside, citizen."

Chad knew any of his friends would've made a sarcastic quip over such an order. He couldn't think of anything particularly witty at the moment, and so settled on smacking the giant in the face with everything he had.

Hopefully, Arisawa had insurance.

* * *

><p>This was no longer a cool spy movie, Orihime Inoue recognized. This was the real thing. Real destruction, and real pain. Real terror. Ichigo still looked closer to a walking corpse than was comfortable, and even as they ran Uryu Ishida looked up and fired off a bolt of blue at someone just out of her sight.<p>

"Go, Orihime", he commanded. "Get Ichigo to safety, he's the one they want. Arisawa-sensei?"

"I have a place", the old man admitted after a moment. "Take this, young man. It's a device for detecting Spirit Eaters."

The black disk was still flashing wildly, but the Quincy took it gladly. "Thank you. We'll meet up there. Go!"

They went. The doctor was an incredibly fast sprinter for his age, possibly running on fear alone, and Orihime was actually hard pressed to catch up with her passenger. To her relief, after a while Ichigo recovered enough to run on his own, cutting through crowds of people to get to the other side of each street or intersection without caring if they ran in front of a dozen cars. For one fleeting moment, she believed they were safe...

Then the streetlamp fell down before them, shattered, sparking, and severed cleanly at the base. Quickly getting Ichigo behind her despite his protests, the girl cut off an unladylike oath- in all their rush, they had forgotten to look _up_.

The Spirit Eater had chosen a relatively deserted part of town to ambush them, and any strays would suspect themselves of drinking too much and flee the scene after such a sight as this.

The enemy was an absolute contrast to the robotic giant who had invaded Matoba's home; small and young-looking, with thick glittery cinnamon brown hair down to her neck. Beneath that was a one-piece orange and red ball gown complimented by ruby red slippers and long-sleeve gloves. Had she not just attacked them, Orihime might have adored such a incredibly cute outfit, the way it made her look like a real-live princess. The threat in the girl's eyes killed any such notions however.

"So rude, Shinigami", she chortled, descending from above. "Trying to skip out on ME! The nerve!" With a gesture, another cut appeared; this one directly through a stretch of pavement before Orihime's feet. It looked thin but deep, and Orihime rushed to get _Soten Kisshu_ out in front of Ichigo. "W-who are you?"

The girl looked most pleased by this. "Adre Gryuryana. _Princess_ Adre Gryuryana, and don't you forget it! And you are?"

Thinking it couldn't hurt, she curtsied back despite being in jeans. "Orihime Inoue... Shinigami."

"Wh-what? Inoue what... are you...?"

"Shinigami, eh?" The princess looked intrigued, but not like she would buy it so easily. Ichigo looked desperate to blow the lie, but he did not rise just yet.

"It's true!", Orihime shouted over him, inwardly praying that she wouldn't mess this up. "I'm, uh, from the 15th squad, 8th seat! I was trying to save my human friend here, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Well, you do have some interesting powers there", Adre noted, lips wide.

"No!" Ichigo screamed over the forcefield. "I'm the Shinigami you sensed! I'm the one you want, leave her out of this!"

She decided then to play the trump card, raising Ichigo's badge and prompting him to root through his pockets, cursing. "Kurosaki-kun is my good friend. He's trying to help me", she explained, blushing. "Trying to make you think that he's the real Shinigami so you'll go for him. But_ I'm_ the one with the powers! I have this badge that lets me switch between human and Shinigami, see?"

This seemed to work too. Adre blinked curiously. "Oh? So, you are that substitute Shinigami I've heard about. Don't you try anything funny now. My loyal knights have their eyes on you!" Settling to the ground, she curtsied back and grinned at Orihime's confusion- there was no one else there with them. "You'll be coming with me, miss Shinigami. A princess must learn to be generous with her subjects after all."

"That's fine. I surrender."

Naturally Ichigo tried to protest this arrangement further, but before long Adre reached out and another invisible ground cut knocked him away. "Sir Pendragon doesn't like mouthy little boys who pretend to be Shinigami." Waiting no longer, the princess lunged forward as if to remind Orihime of her true nature, stopping in front of her before removing one of the silk gloves.

Looking into those hungry eyes for a moment, she thought in revulsion that Adre was about to kiss her on the mouth. Instead, she settled for simply touching the exposed hand to her cheek. The drain of spiritual energy and the resulting blackout took almost no time at all.

Her last sight was Ichigo's desperate face.

* * *

><p>Uryu Ishida knew he was considered by all to be the tactician of this little improvised group. This was probably more due to the fact that he didn't consider any of his friends to be good tactical planners, but it was also a title he secretly cherished.<p>

Here, it helped him affirm his feeling that there _was_ something off about the enemy attack. Certainly, the Spirit Eater up on the roof had been enthusiastic enough, casting down black bolts of lightning with ample speed and accuracy... But even that was too easy, almost like he was deliberately coming as close as possible to hitting without actually doing so.

Remove 'almost'. The next time a bolt came down, he deliberately stopped, turned and fired into darkness. The single arrow would not kill much, but it was enough to hear the second Spirit Eater howl in pain before appearing with the blue dart embedded in his arm. There was a pipe in his left hand that had been forged into a short sword. It was the white-haired flame-user from before, and didn't take a tactician to tell that he was very, very angry.

"Lucky shot", he grumbled. "Wouldn't try that _Sprenger_ thing again though. Be a shame if some poor _bonkotsu_ got caught the explosion, eh Quincy? 'Specially seeing as this isn't even your fight."

"You seek to absorb Ichigo Kurosaki's spirit energy." Without looking or missing a word, he dodged the next bolt, glasses flashing. "I realize it's hard to believe... but I've taken something of a shine to that clueless idiot. Him being _eaten_ is not something I want on my head. None of us are going to give him up, so you may as well stop trying."

The Spirit Eater sighed. "Eh. Idealists. Guys like you give me gas. But if that's the way you wanna play it... You can enjoy your friend's power firsthand!"

Slamming both palms together, he radiated a wave of flame that exceeded anything he'd done before, charring the Quincy's uniform and cape even as he dodged. Worse yet, he could easily make out the amount of cars and buildings which had been roasted by the fire, though thankfully none of them had detonated just yet.

Taking a moment to duck away from the lightning-thrower, he fired back at thug-faced enemy from cover, relieved to see him blocking or dodging each arrow instead of absorbing them. _Good. That means _Reiatsu _attacks still work. I just have to keep my distance and wear him down, keep him or his friend from touching my skin._

The plan thus set out, his thoughts turned to the wreckage surrounding him. _Have to keep reminding myself that this isn't Karakura Town. _There, everyone had some idea that the place was a haven for ghosts and kept their distance accordingly from any weird happenings. Here it was more like fighting on a minefield, and Uryu could already hear sirens in the distance.

Taking another quick shot through a wave of flame, he was surprised to see the enemy flash-step past the pile of cars to appear on the other side before swinging his makeshift sword. "_Getsuga TENSHO_!"

Without looking, he rolled away, not trying to counter the black flame attack that now erupted from the Spirit Eater's sword. The destruction put the rest of the flame user's attacks to shame, an undulating blast of inky blackness the exact same as Ichigo had performed so many times. _So even Ichigo's techniques were transferred... at least he can't do a Bankai. I hope._

To his left, more action was happening independent of their own duel- he could see Chad continuing to pummel the giant all the way out into the streets, neither yielding ground. "Interference will not be tolerated!", the black-haired Spirit Eater repeated, his voice a roar this time. "Step aside, citizen!"

"Nogrand, get outta the way!", Uryu's own opponent cried. "_Getsuga TENSHO!"_

The giant must have been smarter than he acted, for he held Chad in place with an extended parry, only diving out of the way at the last second. But for Chad it was too late- the flame engulfed him. When it subsided, Uryu saw that he had gotten his protective arm up, but all that had done was spare his life; he toppled like a tree, shirt and pants burnt all over.

_Damn_. Instinctively he stepped back, but a black bolt over the shoulder made him freeze up. The giant Nogrand stood, approaching with the same emotionless facade he'd used with Chad. "Target Shinigami has escaped. Objective: Locate. Interference will not be tolerated."

"You heard the big guy", the flame-user said, stepping closer as well. "Tell us where that Shinigami is and we won't hurt you... much as you're askin' for it."

"My NAME", he gritted out, "is Uryu Ishida, a Quincy. Who are you?"

"Self-identification Spirit Eater Nogrand Juno", the giant grunted as they both drew closer, backing him into a corner. "Step aside, Quincy."

"Name's Reeve Pastell", the flame-user revealed. "But you didn't hear that from me, Quincy. We're not supposed to tell our names to people. But hey, I figure we can give you a last request 'fore you go. Was it everything you wanted?"

Feeling a wall touch his back, he shook his head dismissively. "Exactly what I wanted, Reeve Pastell. Thanks."

"Don't mention it buddy. Oh wait! You can't! 'Cause you'll be dea-"

The attack was right on time. First came a large chain of blades looping around catch Nogrand in the chest, then a blast of ice encasing Reeve's hands before he could generate another fire wave. Without missing a beat, Uryu resumed the hail of arrows, and the bolt-thrower must have been either occupied or too scared to continue, for this time his attack went unimpeded.

"You wanted to find some Shinigami?", he noted after hitting Nogrand with enough arrows to pitch him into the rubble face-first. "Well here you are."

Taking that moment, the holders of these weapons made themselves known as well. Renji Abarai's hair and facial tattoos were unmistakable as ever, and the Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya provided an interesting contrast fetching Chad's motionless body out of the wreckage. "I'm sure there's an interesting story to go with all this", the former noted casually, reminding Uryu that he really shouldn't be associating with them. "How's about you tell us about it after we clean up these clowns?"

_So what's it going to be? Betray my oath? Help my sworn enemies to help Ichigo? Actually..._

Stepping back, he pointed to Chad. "He can tell you when he wakes up. I've got to find Ichigo."

He didn't get far before the child-faced Shinigami Captain appeared before him, faster than Reeve had ever moved. "You say Ichigo Kurosaki is here? What's going on here, Quincy?"

In hindsight, he could tell his next move was foolish. Certainly, Toshiro was actually one of the less obnoxious of the 13 Shinigami captains. But Uryu had been having a bad day, and the suspicion, the discrimination in that comment cut him to the bone.

His punch did not reach Hitsugaya's face. It did not slow him at all. All it did was give the Spirit Eaters time enough to regain their bearings and flee the scene no matter how Renji tried to box them in. "Gah. Fold", Uryu heard Reeve announce dejectedly. "See you again, Quincy."

The captain looked equally frustrated at this turn of events. He might have taken it out in a less diplomatic way if police and fire sirens had not drowned out his words. "Investigating the explosions", Uryu noted. "Take Sado. I'll fend for myself. They can't see you, but they can see us. They'll think us responsible."

Still furious but willing to listen to reason, Toshiro nodded. "Fine. But after that I expect a full explanation."

About to break into a run up the closest intact tower, he stopped. "One more thing, Shinigami. If you happen to run into those 'clowns' again, don't ever let them touch your skin. It's a matter of life and death... and you'd be the experts on that, wouldn't you?"

* * *

><p>AN: Short chapter. On reflection, there have been enough characters in the Bleach canon now that creating brand new ones with unique powers and personalities is harder than I expected it to be.

One habit that I've noticed and sought to subvert was how both Arrancar and Shinigami characters always make a habit of giving people their names for no reason except for the 'audience' (and Ikkaku lampshades this at one point), and so we haven't learned Reeve's name until two chapters after he was introduced, along with the others. You do have to give them names eventually though- it gets annoying constantly writing 'the flame-user' or 'the giant'.

Hopefully Reeve, Nogrand, and Adre stand out from the crowd, as there's many more of their comrades to be introduced in the chapters to come.


	4. Part 4: Blunder One

Disc: Tite Kubo owns Bleach.

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><p>Part 4: Blunder One<p>

* * *

><p>Ichigo studied the floor tiles, too depressed and angry with himself to feel the irony of the situation. Of all the powerful enemies he'd encountered, of all the places he'd bee forced to break into... the last thing anyone who knew him might have guessed was that he'd be picked up by the Naruki City Police Department.<p>

But that was exactly what had happened. They'd even handcuffed him. His looks were working against him. And if the stares he was attracting were any indication, more than a few of the officers thought him to be somehow involved in the explosions and random violence that had rocked the _Bashi _district today. Escaping would have been child's play if he'd had his Shinigami badge, but Orihime had taken it with her to complete her illusion.

_Orihime. _Not caring what it looked like, he screamed and kicked a chair over. She'd deliberately sacrificed herself to keep him from falling into enemy hands. _ Him_, the one who had sworn time and time again to always protect her. _Just like Tatsuki. When it comes down to it... I always fail them._

How had he ended up so _useless_?

Even a visit from the Shinigami did not improve his mood, nor his situation. Rangiku Matsumoto of the 10th squad would certainly have attracted the eye of every male officer in the station, but as a spiritual being they would not see her massive bust as she walked through the lobby up to the downcast Ichigo.

"Yoo-hoo! Why so down in the dumps, Kurosaki? Did you miss me that much?"

He looked side to side, hoping she caught on. No one but him could see or hear her. If he talked back, he would damn any chance of leniency whenever they got around to questioning him.

"Oh", the woman dropped the overly-friendly face and waving, realizing their predicament. "I guess it wouldn't do well for me to just break you out of here either, huh?"

He shook his head twice. Rangiku's efforts _were_ appreciated, but that was the last thing he wanted right now. He couldn't explain the rest, only that for the moment, the station might have been one of the safest places for him to be if there were still Spirit Eaters about.

Because they had all been after _him_. That truth hung over it all like a guillotine- none of this would have happened if not for them detecting his spiritual power. Time and time again he would replay the events in his mind, questioning what he could have done to prevent things from going so horribly wrong...

"Oh _fine_", Rangiku grumped, annoyed as usual by his seriousness. "Hitsugaya-taicho sent me to find you and bring you in, but if we have to wait there's no helping it. I'll just have to find some way to entertain myself."

So she did. Sitting down on the drab tile, she proceeded to strike a number of suggestive poses on the floor. No one would see any of it except Ichigo, who fought hard not to react to each one, could not even yell at her to stop that for fear of drawing attention. Finally, an officer came to save him from Rangiku's posing. Shaking his head once more to dissuade her of any heroics, he followed after calmly, the Shinigami trailing in his wake.

"Kurosaki Ichigo", the second officer in the room began. Muscular and weathered with a blue outfit, he looked like a high-ranking one, but his invisible 'guardian' made a fish eye at him all the same. "You're a long way from home. Shall we call your father, tell him what you've been up to?"

_Guilt by admission_, he recognized, weirdly pleased about catching on in time to avoid it. "I _would_ like to talk to my dad, but whatever happened back there, I had nothing to do with it." Even that was difficult to say- the only experience he had with lying was in making excuses to get out of school and go kill a Hollow, and Rukia had always been better at those.

The interrogator looked disgusted. "No? Then why did we identify some of your friends fleeing the scene? Sado Yasutora and Uryu Ishida, both matches to people who are supposed to be living in Karakura Town."

"Ishida isn't my friend, I don't know what he was doing there."

"Then what were _you_ doing?"

He decided the guy wasn't buying the innocent act- it was time to skate as close to the truth as he could afford to. "Chad and I were visiting Tatsuki Arisawa's uncle Matoba. She disappeared about four days ago, and we thought she might have gone to him, her last living relative."

"So then Matoba Arisawa's house exploded without warning. How convenient that you were all able to get out in time. What about him? Why wasn't he with you?"

Rangiku continued to try and cheer him through this, but the anger was visible for everyone to see. Matoba had betrayed them, abandoned them to the Spirit Eaters to save his own life. "Dr. Arisawa ran away when the noise started. I don't know where he got off to."

The man grunted, making it clear the doctor would be held just as accountable if he was ever found. "Well you'll be happy to know that I've already called your dad. He's on his way now to pick you up. Until then, you'll be staying right here. _Then_ you'll be going straight home. Am I clear, Kurosaki?"

Seeing the worry on Rangiku's face, he stared down at the cuffs. "Doesn't look like I have a choice, do I?" Stuck as a human, he would be helpless for whatever came next, and could only hope for assistance or a lucky break. In that way, he was no better off than Orihime or Tatsuki...

* * *

><p>"You're kidding", Renji Abarai looked pulled between incredulous and angry, scarcely able to believe what he'd heard. "Tell me you're kidding. He's under arrest?"<p>

"That's what Matsumoto said", Toshiro said calmly. "And we cannot help him directly unless the enemy makes another move for him."

The 10th squad barracks was comfortable enough for them, and in fact less spartan than many others. While the captain continued to compose his report at his desk, the others had little to do but wait and rest.

"You should go directly to the Head Captain, man", Renji suggested absently. "This is a threat that affects all of Soul Society. If we don't do something quick-"

Toshiro gave him his iciest glare, a reminder that he was a guest here in the 10th squad barracks. "I am in fact submitting two copies of this report; one to Head Captain Yamamoto and one to Central 46. That is how things must be done- we cannot afford to be running around like fools." Softening, he turned to Sado again. "Now. These 'Spirit Eaters'...did Dr. Arisawa say how many of them there might be?"

The human shrugged. His own injuries had yet to heal, and he was taking care not to make any large movements "I don't remember him giving an exact number. He said that he quit the program long ago, but he did say they're based in Naruki City. All of them should be there."

"At least four", Renji mused, putting one hand to his tattooed forehead. "Nogrand, Reeve, the girl in the red dress, and that one who was attacking Uryu from the roof. I didn't really get a good look at him. None of those ones seemed to be a leader though."

"I've put in a request to track down Matoba Arisawa", Toshiro mentioned. "It's clear he knows all about us already. He might even possess enough spiritual awareness to sense us, or at least point us toward their headquarters."

"Uryu", Chad remembered slowly, sitting up from the sleeping bag. "What did he do?"

"He ran from us", the captain noted in irritation. "I do realize that the remaining Quincy have every reason to distrust the Shinigami, but this enemy is a danger to all spiritual beings everywhere. Even the Hollows. In fact, I'd bet _that's_ how they've been able to feed themselves until recently. It explains too much."

"Recently", Chad rumbled. "How... did you know to come? Ichigo?"

Toshiro frowned. "Hardly. Naruki City's assigned guardian Shinigami, Rutori Igenari, went missing five days ago. We were sent there to track him down. Knowing what we know now, it's quite likely that he's been taken by the Spirit Eaters. Maybe even killed."

"Tatsuki", Sado remembered wistfully. "But she isn't a Shinigami."

"I'm aware of that. It could be that they deliberately took her to lure Ichigo, a well-known Shinigami despite his mixed heritage, into their grasp. The more Shinigami they can feed off of, the stronger they will become." Standing, Toshiro shuddered in very real fear. Fear, and the realization that for now, it was all in his hands. "I dread to even think what they would be capable of if they ever managed to come to our dimensional plane. Everything here is composed of _Reishi_. We must take every precaution when using the _Rukongai_ gates in that city from now on. I'll submit a memo to all squad captains."

"When do we go back, then?", Renji asked. "We're not just gonna leave Ichigo's fate in the hands of a bunch of humans, are we? In the heart of enemy territory?"

Pointing to the strange device they'd set up in the corner of the room, Toshiro shook his head. "I told you Abarai, we can't interfere. We are sworn not to harm humans. But Matsumoto is keeping an eye on him- she'll let us know if a Spirit Eater attacks them. Then we have license to move in and stop them. That's why we're going to be taking turns monitoring this tonight."

"Uryu", Chad repeated. At first Toshiro looked exasperated, but the large boy shook his mopped head. "The doctor gave him some kind of disk device that detects Spirit Eaters."

"That would be very useful", he admitted grudgingly. "Since normally they can't be sensed unless they release stolen _Reiatsu. _But finding the Quincy won't be an easy task if he doesn't wish to be found. Anyone we send to find him will be in more danger than he is."

"I won't be." Chad stood up defiantly. "Spiritually-aware humans like me become tired when a Spirit Eater drains them, but we're still flesh and blood- we can't die from it like a Shinigami can. I can find him."

The captain shook his small head. "Sorry, but no. With your injuries I can't allow it. Your powers are close enough to a Hollow's that I wouldn't risk it. And they've already demonstrated a despicable lack of concern for human life, despite supposedly being made to protect humans from us."

Taking a moment to pack the identical reports beneath his arm, Toshiro tried to make sure the human saw how serious he was taking this. "Sado Yasutora... Remember that we must all make sacrifices to defeat such an enemy, and not rush into battle without authorization or preparation. For now, we rest. I will take the first watch."

Defeated, Chad slumped down. As if he could sleep knowing how much danger his friends were all in. Rather, it was his injuries which shortened his breath, and make his eyelids heavy.

_Be safe, all of you. I promise we'll be there when the time comes..._

* * *

><p>The claustrophobic halls of thehidden lab were cherished by only a few of its denizens. Reeve Pastell in particular had always longed to be free of them, to be out and about whenever possible. However, after such a long time away he held a new appreciation for the underground complex where his kin had their 'home base'. It almost made him forget that he was probably overdue a major verbal lashing.<p>

So he let Nogrand go first, his bulky frame even more awkward in the doorway to the main lab. The giant had been miserable the whole trip back. "Objective failed. Shinigami escaped. Condition: Unacceptable."

"Hey, don't worry big guy. We'll get 'em next time, okay?"

Then the blast of energy pitched him forward, nearly making him black out right then and there- only Ichigo's power had saved him. "Actually, I believe that Nogrand has the right idea", a cold voice came from behind them. "What you have done is in no way acceptable, Pastell."

Unable to move much, he was still able to recognize the voice. "Ungh... 'ey... what's up, doc?"

At a silent command, the spiritual power reoriented him to face the gathered Spirit Eaters, a full half-dozen of his brothers and sisters standing by in silence. But doctor Jutani Zatsua looked the most indignant of them all. The woman had removed her round mirrored glasses, and put them in the pocket of her dirty gray lab coat, a clear sign of fury to all those who knew her. "You disobey orders, then you fail in the mission you were assigned. Not a good day for you Pastell, and it's about to get worse."

These theatrics might have scared Reeve a few years ago, but with Ichigo's power still surging through him it seemed even less intimidating than usual. "Let me guess- no feeding for me tonight?"

"It's a start", Zatsua said. "Beyond that, I think a lock down is in order. For the next week, you will not be leaving this lab. At all."

That was worse. He could not hide his dismay. "Aww, c'mon doc! I was just... y'know, exercising some initiative! You like that, don't you?"

The fancy talk had no visible effect, and the angry doctor was not yet done. Stalking over to Nogrand, she looked him up and down. "Concussive damage to the chest, exposure to sub zero temperatures, some kind of ice attack. Still, you at least followed orders."

"Like he has a choice", Reeve mumbled under his breath. More so than any of his kin, Nogrand Juno had had his mind utterly broken by his condition. Mentally, he was more machine than man, all the better to focus his great strength... and yet that dark-skinned human had matched him blow for blow. _Impressive. What's his secret?_

"We won though", a younger girl's voice came to them. Princess Adre Gryuryana in her favourite red gown. It was odd to hear her, one of the ones who hated Reeve so, to be defending him. "We caught ourselves another Shinigami!"

The doctor did not look nearly so easily pleased, closing her eyes in impatience. "Adre, dear... that orange-haired girl is _not_ a Shinigami. Orihime Inoue is merely a human with unusual spirit-related powers. You were duped."

As Reeve had expected, this only led to a tantrum. "Bleah! You just won't accept that I won where these ones failed! I hate you! I'm going to my room!"

"Report", Zatsua demanded of Kreig once she was gone. "What about the ones she was with?"

The bolt-thrower of the group had watched it all from afar, and gave Reeve an apologetic look before bowing- he'd only come along because he was Reeve's friend. "There were a few other humans like our current captive aiding the Shinigami in his escape. After three more Shinigami appeared to help the Quincy, we decided to retreat."

"A wise decision", she commented. "Much as it would have benefited us to have even more Shinigami captives, better safe than sorry."

"Then let me go back out there!", Reeve demanded, seizing his chance. "Kurosaki's still weak. I can get him, bring him back here. Then we'll have two! He has to know-"

"You are on _probation_, Pastell", the doctor cut in. Behind her, some of the others gave him harsh glares. _Suck-ups._ "Your sleep chamber is waiting for you."

But he remained, not speaking but merely listening. If she wanted him out so badly she would have to use force. There were any number of Spirit Eaters here who could do that even if he chose to expend the last bits of Ichigo's power on them... but he would at least make them _earn_ it. It might be worth it just to see their shock when he used the 'Getsuga Tensho', which none of them had ever witnessed before.

"I've gotten confirmation from our sources in the NCPD", the doctor announced to the others around the room. "Ichigo Kurosaki, the _true_ Shinigami guardian of Karakura Town, has been held up at the station in the _Bashi _district. I do not want the station destroyed, but I'm sure whatever Shinigami is in charge here will send a force to reclaim him some time tonight. Where is Frigeld?"

"Off training with the new recruit", one of the others provided. "I don't think he'll be done by tonight."

"Yes, that's important too", Zatsua acknowledged. "Lanis?"

There was no need for the others to step aside for the named man to walk forward. The dirty-blond Spirit Eater was looked upon even by their group as a freak, Pastell knew. Though dressed neatly in a business suit and black pants, his eyes lacked any focus, a ghostly gray that revealed the truth of his blindness.

"A clarion's call, a howl, _na escuridadea través do silencio da noite._", Lanis spoke quietly. "Battle is inevitable this night, _e__u daría a miña vida_ _. _Wish upon the full moon fortune comes, and so too shall the score be balanced."

Zatsua seemed displeased with that prediction, but the doctor knew threatening him would not get him to change the prediction. What he saw would come true as it always had. "Demalza, you can go ahead with the plan we discussed. Hyn?"

As several of the others took a deep breath, an extremely slender Spirit Eater in soot black battle fatigues stepped forward beside Lanis. Opening narrow eyes, he revealed two of the reasons he did not wander the streets of Naruki freely like some of the others did... irises of molten red that even Reeve flinched away from.

"Hyn Alumirr... I place this delicate matter in your hands now. Your unique talents work the best when you fight alone. Position yourself in the _Bashi _district. Make ready to intercept any Shinigami intruders. You may take them dead or alive, so long as it works... and make sure to feed well before you go- it's going to be a long night."

The high-ranked Spirit Eater blinked again, reaching down to the bizarre-looking metal weapon on his belt. Bizarre, but professionally cared for by its wielder.

Reeve chuckled darkly to himself, despite how boring his 'house arrest' was going to be. Even that baby-faced captain , Toshiro Hitsugaya, wouldn't have a chance against Hyn's powers. "As you order, doctor. I will contact you if I'm able to take any captives. This may well be what we've been seeking for so long."

Zatsua grinned back, her green eyes dancing with a fanatical fire to compliment her minion's eyes of lava. "It might well indeed. Show those bastard Shinigami what you can do, Hyn. This is the very moment that you were created for."

* * *

><p>AN: Though I can't say I've gone over every single arc of Bleach, it occurred to me recently that I don't believe Toshiro and Uryu have ever met face to face. So I improvised their relationship, tainted as it is by the long-standing grudge between their kind, Toshiro adhering to the rules and alienating a would-be ally in his ongoing quest to be taken seriously by Soul Society. This was more of a breather chapter after the last one, but we'll be back to the action soon enough.


	5. Part 5: Grace the Moon

_Part 5: Grace the Moon_

* * *

><p>Hands clasped behind his head, Ichigo had gotten bored of detainment long ago. But never so bored or tired that he missed the signs when they happened.<p>

The new officer coming into the detainment room didn't move like the others, and after a moment of watching her moves, he could place exactly what it was that struck his memory about her. Though rail-thin, tall and pleasant enough in the face, the new female cop moved with the lethal grace of the Soul Society's head assassin, Captain Soifon.

They even had similar hair colour, though Demalza's was far bigger and messier, like fur. Looking side to side frantically, he was relieved to see Rangiku Matsumoto had not wandered off in an effort to escape the tedium of detainment.

Neither was the new officer alone- his old interrogator was there at her side. "Kurosaki, this is officer Demalza Sanhas. She'll be driving you to the bus station where your father said he'd pick you up."

"The bus station?" he asked, playing along. "Why? Why can't he just come here?"

"Your dad _is _a lazy bum, Ichigo", Rangiku reminded him, endlessly amused that she was still silent and invisible to both the cops. _You're one to talk, Matsumoto._

"To force him to come all the way to the _Bashi_ district would make a long trip even longer", the man replied coldly. "I gather your family doesn't own a car."

Of course not. There was no need for it in Karakura Town, where everything was within walking distance. "Brilliant deduction there, Sherlock", Rangiku mocked the cop. "Aich. How do such stupid humans end up being enforcers in their world?"

"No, we don't", Ichigo confirmed. "I'll go. Less embarrassing for my dad that way."

The lady cop nodded and smiled politely, less smug about the situation than her partner, who now seemed to be actively trying to keep his distance from her. "I'm glad to see you understand, Kurosaki. Or do you prefer that I call you Ichigo?"

"And this one...", Rangiku continued on, sizing up Demalza's outfit now, and the body underneath. "What's she trying to prove with they way she wears that? There's no way she's married, she's so ugly! Those breasts are like beestings!"

Shrugging, Ichigo stood. The way Demalza was trying to make him feel at ease only confirmed his suspicions. They _weren't_ going to a bus station to meet his dad. They were going to whatever hidden place the Spirit Eaters used as their headquarters. The place where Orihime and Tatsuki were being kept, most likely.

Did he want that? His heart cried out _yes_, but the warrior's instincts told him they would make sure that he wouldn't be able to just fight free when he was there. Not if they knew he was Shinigami. "You're sure my dad's coming all the way out here to get me?"

"He said he would be taking the first train he could", the interrogator lied. "Though I had gotten word that the line had an accident, it should be reopened by now."

"Ooh, I've never ridden one of those before", Rangiku remarked idly. "Always kind of wanted to."

"Oh?", he asked carefully. "What kind of accident?"

Quickly, while the guy was considering what to say, he spared a look out the window. Sure enough, none of the station's staff were out there. One was fast asleep on a table where he'd been reading a magazine. Drugged? _Good thing I don't drink coffee._

"A breakdown of one of the cars. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it- several people were killed, and others hospitalized."

Finally, with a tiny nod to Rangiku to draw her blade, he stepped back. "I guess that's the price humanity pays to get rid of _Shinigami_, isn't it?"

The man's face was priceless. The woman's reaction was more subtle but she quickly raised a hand when the man pulled his gun. "No, Kazguraska. He must know it all by now."

"But he's-"

"Silence." It was not even a shout, but the interrogator Kazguraska stopped immediately. Standing as well, she offered him a beckoning hand. "I understand your fear, Kurosaki. But I promise that if you come with me quietly, I'll do my best to ensure you're exonerated as an accomplice. It's not as though you're a full Shinigami now, is it?"

"Like hell, you cow", Rangiku taunted, now stepped up beside her. "You think you can get Ichigo to betray- URK!"

Lightning quick, Demalza had lashed out with the other arm to catch her in the throat. The way she immediately began writhing in agony made Ichigo lunge forward on instinct, though as a human he knew he would have no chance against a Spirit Eater.

"Annoying", Demalza quipped, deadly calm in place of the kindness she had shown him. "Let me just say that I despise women like you who think their breasts are magic tickets-"

He tackled. Fortunately, Kazguraska was too scared to shoot anywhere near his partner, and Demalza was not nearly as strong as her comrades might have indicated. He didn't bowl her over. He didn't even come close. But what he did do was buy Rangiku the time she needed to kick free and put one hand to her sword. "Growl.._. HAINEKO_!"

In such a tiny room, the smoke that her weapon could transform into blocked everyone's vision almost instantly. Running for the door, Ichigo could see it would soon fill up the entire station, preventing anyone from seeing. And killing them too if Rangiku wished it, but he knew the only one in danger of _that_ was the Spirit Eater.

But now, he was free to run out of the station into the streets. The stars shone brightly here between the skyscrapers, but he paid them little mind, only seeking to put as much distance between Demalza and himself as possible. _Still just a human. I can't really help Rangiku now, hope she doesn't decide to stick around and fight if that Spirit Eater turns out tougher than-_

Furious growling and barking cut into his thoughts, and he realized it had been growing in volume for some time. It belonged to a brown-furred terrier which had positioned itself directly in his path, fangs bared. Without looking back, he could tell there was another dog behind him as well. Before long there was a third one, a black doberman, bounding down off a dumpster to growl at him with equal fury.

Ichigo looked down at the pavement and sighed. Once again, he wished he still had his badge. He certainly would not have killed these animals, but with Shinigami-level agility he could have easily gotten away from them, sense of smell or no. The creatures appeared to be studying each movement of his legs as they snarled, teeth bared- no retreat would be possible.

"Dogs now...?" _Can I be more humiliated?_

"Correct", came Demalza's reply, stepping out from behind a car. Curiously, the three animals remained focused on intimidating Ichigo out of running. "That is my unique power when I release my stored spirit energy- 'Wild Drive'. My _l__anzamento_, as we call it. Don't bother running Kurosaki- my friends have your scent."

A lost cause. He slumped, refusing to meet the woman's eyes. "So that's it."

"I do rather like them", the Spirit Eater confessed, stopping to kneel down and scratch one who looked more than happy to be petted by her, even licking her face as though they were the best of friends. "Oh, who's a good boyyy? Yes you, yes you are! You're a good boyyy!" Dropping the baby talk, she smiled. "There is no animal in the world more loyal or dedicated."

"More like no animal more stupid or gullible", a more familiar voice called out. Rangiku swept down from the rooftop, Zanpaktou at the ready even if the dogs could not see, hear, or even smell her. "I'm more of a cat person myself."

"Unsurprising", Demalza snarled back huffily. Her dogs seemed to copy the move. "The spoiled princesses of the animal world. Like you Shinigami, they coast through life on looks alone."

The three dogs seemed to echo her sentiment, though still baring their teeth at Ichigo, but no matter what he tried to say Matsumoto's wrath seemed directed only at the Spirit Eater: "Only as predictable as you! No wonder you have such a close affinity with dogs, 'cause you're such a-"

"HEY! RANGIKU!", Ichigo finally held up both waving hands to the two irate women before they could tear into each other. "You can argue about which animal is better later! Right now we have to deal with this!"

Demalza blinked first, both of them slowly realizing how far they'd gotten out of hand yelling. "Apologies, Kurosaki. It would appear we have a stand off."

"Not really", Rangiku pointed out contemptuously. "The mutts can't sense me. I'll just take Ichigo now, and-"

"-and get your skull popped by Hyn the moment you rise above the skyline", Demalza cut in. "Pathetic airhead. Not that it wouldn't thrill me to no end to watch you die screaming Shinigami, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try to help save this human from your influence."

"Our 'influence'." Her new nemesis couldn't help but snicker.

"Kurosaki is only a 'substitute' Shinigami", Demalza pointed out, facing Ichigo imploringly. Rolling up the left sleeve of the cop uniform, she revealed the familiar double triangle and sphere of the Spirit Eater's tattoo.

"If he were to retire from it, and agree to transform into a human full-time... why then... we would have no reason to endanger him or his friends. The girl Orihime Inoue will be released. And I can certainly guarantee that _baka_ Reeve Pastell won't be giving you any further trouble. Our dearest apologies for that, by the way."

"The one who attacked us on the way here", Ichigo guessed from the scorn in Demalza's voice. "That guy doesn't seem like the type to follow orders."

"He isn't", she admitted. "But he's also one of the weaker of our number. The rest of us can keep him in line if we have to, trust me."

"Very kind of you", he nodded back. This one didn't seem nearly as aggressive as the rest, only really hostile towards Rangiku when she insulted dogs. "Honestly, compared to other enemies I've come up against, you're one of the most kind, miss Demalza Sanhas."

The Spirit Eater looked as pleased by this compliment as any human woman might. And to his amusement, an astonished Rangiku looked as though she actually thought he was considering the offer.

"So I'll do you the kindness of explaining why I can't ever do that."

Now it was Demalza's turn to look shocked, but still she did not snap at him. Even the dogs were no longer growling or barking. _Interesting. They share moods with her, not just minds._ "Continue."

Deep breath. Once more he would have to rely on Rangiku's speed to get him out of this. "My being a 'substitute' Shinigami part of the time... it's not just a job I was given by them. Several- no... a _lot_ of the Shinigami you Spirit Eater people are planning to kill are my closest friends. And if Tatsuki-chan's told you anything about me at all, you'll know I do anything to protect my friends."

Demalza did not become angry again. If anything she looked sad that her offer had not bridged the gap between them. "I guess that's that. Like you, we have a commitment we have no choice but to honour. Just consider this, Ichigo Kurosaki: which do you hold more loyalty towards? The Soul Society, or your home nation? Your human friends, or your Shinigami friends? Think it over, because with the way things are progressing right now, you will have to make that choice soon enough." Snapping out of it, she gestured violently. "_Take him_."

"I don't think so. Growl... _HAINEKO_!"

Just like at the station, the Zakpaktou's smoke filled the street, blinding the threatening dogs just enough for Rangiku to zip in and grab her ward. He knew he must have looked ridiculous, being carried along at breakneck speeds through the air by a being who would be invisible to Naruki's people. Thankfully it was at night. "Don't go above the skyline now", he reminded her once they were clear.

"Why?"

"Demalza said something about another Spirit Eater out tonight. He's been watching for Shinigami. If you fly too high..."

Her scoff made it clear how much value she put on the word of Demalza Sanhas, but Ichigo tried to make his own faith in the words known through a stern gaze. "She didn't want me to die, Matsumoto. I wouldn't try taking him on without-"

The noise could not even be described- first he would have to wait for his ears to stop ringing and his head to stop hurting. More importantly, the sound had left his ride falling back to the ground without a word, crashing into some empty crates.

Stepping away, he cursed. _Not the sound..!_

For his stuck-up protector was lying motionless and silent, face down in a pool of her own blood. The smoke from the projectile that had struck her still rose out of a small hole in her back shoulder.

He was no expert on Shinigami biology, but this couldn't possibly be good.

* * *

><p>The sound of the shot made Orihime Inoue sit up, nearly spilling her tea. Beside her Adre Gryuryana looked cross, but more at whoever had made the noise than her guest.<p>

Her captivity had been straightforward enough. In fact, she could consider it a blessing that both the times she had been abducted, the enemy had no real intention of doing her harm. At least the princess didn't- she had caught several hungry stares from some of the others in the hideout, but Adre's own wrath kept them at bay. She adamantly maintained that Orihime _was_ in fact a full-blown Shinigami, and none of them had spared the great effort it would take to correct her.

So she had been given one of Adre's fancy gowns and stuck in the princess' lavish quarters, large and well-kept compared to the spartan 'sleep chambers' she'd seen scattered across the hidden lab. The regal drapes along the bed frame were the heart of a bizarre scene straight out of a fairytale, with tapestries and even a small lavish garden opposite the door. Pastries or some other delectable were dropped on the far counter every few hours for the two of them to snack on, and Adre had her own kettle and leaves for the tea.

Orihime supposed she ought to have been gathering more information about the place like a spy should, maybe learning where Tatsuki was being kept... but anything like that would risk angering Adre. Which would most certainly guarantee her death at the hands of one of the others.

"Where are your knights, Adre-sama?", she asked, humouring the girl as she had soon learned to do. The youngest Spirit Eater had her delusions, and embracing them was the absolute best way to stay on her good side. In fact she had already learned that the knight's names were Pendragon, Aurius, and Gawain.

"My loyal protectors don't drink tea", the princess said in a friendly tone after swallowing a bit of cinnamon roll. "They say it's too 'girly'. Let them have their ale, Hime-chan. It just leaves more for us."

Encouraged, she took another sip and regarded Adre carefully. "Have you lived in this kingdom your whole life?"

"My whole life I've been a princess", she confirmed forlornly. "Jutani Zatsua is my mother the queen, and my father the king disappeared before I was born. I don't like her very much though."

"Why not?"

"She totally hates the Shinigami", Adre said simply, and for once Orihime knew this was not one of the princess' delusions. "It's kind of scary. I would never throw the lives of my knights away to kill them, the way she has. But don't you worry- I won't let her hurt you. You're my special guest."

Orihime stopped to consider that. She'd only caught a glimpse of the bespectacled female doctor who apparently ran the lab, and she hadn't seemed the way Adre described, though certainly less gentle than Matoba Arisawa. "But our... kingdoms are at war, right?"

"I know." Raising one hand she tenderly cupped the girl's cheek affectionately again, this time with the silken gloves on to prevent another painful energy drain. "It's such a shame that all Shinigami can't be as respectful as you, Orihime Inoue of the 15th squad. Then this war could be averted."

There was something she could honestly agree with. But what could she possibly do about it? Despite the seeming comfort of her surroundings, she was just as helpless as if she'd been put behind bars in a grimy cell instead. _Maybe not entirely helpless... _Besides, having to treat this younger girl as her 'master' all the time creeped her out.

"Adre-sama", she asked, even more polite now in her approach. "The reason that we Shinigami went searching the _Bashi _district is to find a friend of ours who went missing several days back. Do you know a human named Tatsuki Arisawa?"

The princess looked stunned and for a moment she thought she'd pushed too far. But then, she studied her own tea cup's reflection furtively. "I know her. She didn't seem to like me much. Very high-strung. Some of this would have done her good."

She stood, hope rising in her heart. "Really? So she _is_ here! Can we go see her?"

Adre's face brought her back down to earth. "Sorry, but no. The queen says she can't be disturbed at the present time- she's been given one of the highest-grade living quarters. I don't even know where in the castle she's being kept. Only the top-ranked knights might know, like Hyn and Frigeld."

The names meant nothing to her. Nearly all of the other Spirit Eaters she'd glimpsed looked scary and unstable to her, lacking numbers on their bodies to indicate power and rank like the Arrancars had. Privately, she wondered just how far up the 'ranks' princess Adre really was.

"Do you love Ichigo Kurosaki?"

The question, so randomly poised, caught her off guard, and blushing heavily. "W-what? How did you...?"

The princess winked knowingly at her, eyelids now covered in blue colouring Orihime had applied herself. "Part of our draining power. We don't just gain spirit energy through touch, but knowledge too. I saw some of your memories- it looks like you really like him."

This was nearly as shocking as the original question, but Orihime fought to stay under control. How much had this girl seen? How much of her private life did she know about?

"He's pretty cute, isn't he? But I thought that the Shinigami had a law that forbids a union between a human and their kind."

"They do", she stammered after finding her balance again. "But I just can't deny the way I feel about him. Kurosaki-kun, he's..."

"He's your destined prince", Adre claimed happily after several seconds, clasping her gloved hands in contagious excitement. "Don't you worry, Hime-chan. Once Soul Society is destroyed, none of those stupid laws will matter! You can get married to him and everything!"

The blush felt like it was burning her face. She threw up her arms in defence, but another loud crack diverted them both for the moment. "One less Shinigami" she could hear one of the Spirit Eaters joking just outside the door to Adre's room. To her horror. "They're doomed."

* * *

><p>Uryu Ishida crouched behind the rooftop vents and cursed. He hadn't even seen the flash before the shot had come his way, nearly taking him directly in the throat. Bending down, he carefully picked up the missed shot and was surprised to see it was little more than a round spike of metal. A round spike of metal with high levels of spiritual energy concentrated into it, but essentially not much different from garden-variety bullets used by the NCPD.<p>

He should have known better. He had waited patiently in a seedy cafe, nursing his tea until dark, waiting until a time when he could use his Quincy agility to speed himself along rooftops in search of the Spirit Eaters with none the wiser.

His attacker, however, had used a degree of planning he found nearly admirable in the wake of his own mistake. Of course the people would be less likely to spot signs of a fight going on at night. Of course it would be easier to spot targets that stood out from the crowd, like Shinigami and Quincies.

And of course it was easy for a smart foe to take advantage of the fact that a Spirit Eater's _Reiatsu_ normally could not be sensed at all, rendering him a nearly invisible long-range assassin. _Very_ long range, Uryu realized slowly as he held the shell before his eyes, trembling. At anything less than 300 meters even _his_ enhanced reflexes would not have given him enough time to dodge.

_Think. He knows I'm here. Have to misdirect his attention, make him lose track of which roof I'm hiding on. _Summoning the energy bow _Ginrei Kojaku, _he carefully aimed a shot to a far-off rooftop, a bright blue bolt that the enemy could not miss.

No reaction. That was fine with him- he directed more arrows to other rooftops, always tensing for a shot to come his way as the enemy triangulated his position. Nothing. Nothing. Then-

"Surrender."

He nearly jumped. Picking the shell back up he realized the sound had come from it. "You can talk?"

"I am Hyn Alumirr, Spirit Eater", the shell spoke back to him. Though not nearly as machinelike as Nogrand Juno had been, the voice issuing from it was methodically slow, and as hyper-logical as Uryu himself had often been accused of being. "And whoever you are, you must know that you cannot defeat me."

"I've heard it before", he replied grimly. "From what I can see, we're the same type of fighter- we both utilize powerful long-range projectiles."

"I am positioned on a rooftop somewhere in this city over 600 meters away from you", Hyn's voice elaborated, infuriatingly matter-of-fact. "I can see you perfectly from here. You are a boy with blue hair, glasses, and you are currently wearing a white mantle, coat and pants- all of them easily seen at night. No one has ever survived my _Ianzamento, _'Death Clarion'. And once my target has revealed itself I never miss."

600 meters. He studied the metal shell, talking back into it. "A very impressive ability. But I'm a _Quincy,_ Mr. Hyn Alumirr. Our mystic arts rely on much more than just range. So while it's been nice talking to you, I'll look after myself." Initially tempted to crush the thing to drive home his point, he instead looked closer at the workings of it. _Has to be some kind of connection, a trace of his own energy inside of each shot that lets him talk through them. Maybe that's what lets him tell where I am?_

No. If that was the case, he wouldn't have been able to fire the first shot so accurately. _So he has some kind of enhanced vision ability that doesn't rely on _reiatsu_._

Another crack interrupted his thoughts and he flinched, wondering if the enemy had taken another shot. He had, Uryu realized, but not at him. "Shinigami", he grumbled at the sight silhouetted against the full moon like some grotesque shadow play. "You just can't leave me alone can you?"

It was a diversion he could use. Checking the position of the moon to figure which direction the Spirit Eater was, he moved out.

* * *

><p>Toshiro Hitsugaya's Bankai had saved his life. The powerful ice wings formed upon his shoulders would not have been any more conspicuous than flying humans, and given that Matsumoto had told them exactly where to find the enemy he saw no reason not to go in at full power.<p>

And this precaution had saved his life. For even as he fell, he remembered the loud crack that had rang out milliseconds before the shot had struck him. Looking up while trying to course-correct, he made note of the petals above his wings while trying to contain his shock. _Four_ ice petals. He'd come in with the full twelve petals, three roses his powerful Bankai usually yielded, and now he was down to _four_.

"Abarai, DOWN!", he commanded. "He's firing from the rooftops! We have to stay low."

His distressed subordinate obeyed, only speaking his complaint after they were safely out of sight. "Damn it... Now it's gonna take forever to reach Matsumoto and Ichigo."

"No doubt his intention", the captain observed. "I had a feeling they'd call in a heavy-hitter to help capture Ichigo." Pushing his much shorter legs to catch up with Renji, he moved so that the wings covered them both. "We can't be certain when he can see us. Without _Hyorinmaru_'s protective wings you could be killed in one shot. Stay close."

"Coward", the taller Shinigami grumbled. "The bastard wouldn't have a chance against either of us face-to-face."

"That is the _idea_", he said patiently. "We can't feel his spiritual power, so at night he's practically invisible." It was clear Abarai had already dismissed this tactic to be cheating. _No wonder this one gets on Byakuya's nerves sometimes. 'Cheating' can be the most effective attack of all._

The next shot did not hit, only momentarily deafen them before the real reason became apparent. "What's the matter, Shinigami?", Hyn Alumirr's infuriatingly calm voice issued from the shell embedded in the wall. "I'm over _here_."

_Yes he cheats. So we'll have to cheat _better_. _"Stop." As Abarai skidded to a halt, the Captain raised one hand. "Four sides, four laws, four commands, four rulers, you are the gap between darkness and light! Way of Binding Number 81: Severing Void, _Danku!"_

From his hands, the resulting rectangle of energy might have been nearly invisible in the daytime. Grabbing Renji, the captain ran, one arm bringing the transparent shield with him. He did not have to ask the plan, but still nearly jumped in fright when a shot from Hyn struck the barrier, shattering it into pieces.

"Good", Toshiro noted once he'd repeated the incantation again and renewed the barrier. "I was worried he might be able to fire quickly, but there's at least a 10-second gap where he can't shoot. He has to charge up his energy."

"Nice work, captain." Renji would not have expected such a high-level Kido spell, or even known about it. "That takes care of our defence, how about a little offence now?"

"Only where he's not expecting it." Charging straight at the Spirit Eater would accomplish nothing but their own deaths. Taking a moment to go over one of his newest spells, he raised the other hand. "Way of Binding Number 60, Thousand-Coil White Snake, _Hakuja!_"

Now an impossibly long white bandage snaked around the two of them, gradually tightening. Renji would not have known of this one either, but Toshiro could never forget when he'd last witnessed it used. Once it tightened into a cocoon and released again, it was clear they'd been moved to a completely different place in the city, out of the enemy's sight.

"Hopefully", the captain noted, "if we keep to the shadows, that will be enough to throw him off for a while, or at least long enough for my _Bankai_ to regenerate fully." Repeating the barrier spell again, he was about to recheck their surroundings for any sign of the Spirit Eater when something else made him halt, and nearly fall over.

"Captain? What's wrong?"

"Matsumoto", he grunted, instantly recognizing the spirit energy he'd felt take a sharp drop, right around the time of another loud crack. His eyes drooped shut. "She's hurt. Badly."

Thankfully, his subordinate did _not_ suggest that they go running to her aid, though certainly that must have crossed his mind. Matsumoto was annoying, irresponsible, airheaded, careless. He could not count the number of times he had screamed her name in anger... But she was still _his_ vice captain in squad 10.

"Kurosaki will have to keep her safe for now", Toshiro gritted out. "The only way to reach her... is through the Spirit Eater. We have to take him down. _Now_."

He raised both hands, and more recently-learned _Kido_ spells poured forth to avenge his friend.

* * *

><p>AN: Had a slight delay uploading due to my computer dying and being replaced, but less than I worried it might be.

Personally I am not a big fan of Matsumoto's character, but rest assured she's not dead. Replicating her demeanour without her seeming too childish was a tough balancing act, along with creating a new foil for her personality-wise. The thing about fandom is every character has their fans. Even Mayuri, somehow.

Midway through this drawn-out battle, Hyn Alumirr might seem quite the overpowered enemy as is often accused of Original characters (though I doubt any of them on this site could be as cheap as Aizen). His weaknesses should be exploited better next chapter, along with our hero's strengths used to their fullest.

Oh, and Lanis is supposed to be hard to understand and seem like a mad prophet. He speaks in Galican part of the time, English other times.


	6. Part 6: Reunion

_Disclaimer: _Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.

* * *

><p><em>Part 6: Reunion<em>

* * *

><p>Uryu Ishida had trained long ago to stop himself from fearing Hollows, Bounts, or indeed any spiritual creature he might ever have to face in the line of his duty. That must have been incomplete however, since he was now feeling tension add haste and panic to his movements even as he observed what was causing it.<p>

He'd changed hiding spots many times. But he could never be truly sure if he was safe, and every time he changed he found himself mentally preparing for the shot that would take his life. The fear of it alone could paralyse you, he knew. Leave you stuck in your hiding place and praying not to be seen for the rest of the night. _That_ was Hyne Alumirr's true power; the fear of dying without even realizing it that could frighten a person into complete inaction. That was why it was called 'Death Clarion'.

But with risk had come reward. By watching each shot aimed at the Shinigami intruders, he'd triangulated the block of buildings the Spirit Eater had to be located in. The preparations had been made. All he had to do was begin and the finale would be upon them, one way or another.

"Damn it." He shivered, covering his eyes with one sleeve. What would his father say if he learned he was afraid to do battle where a Shinigami was not? More importantly, _he_ would never forget it. But now the fear of death had held him in check for a full twenty seconds after planting the last _Seele-Schneider, _in a way he had never experienced before. _So I can probably wait ten more to figure out what the heck is wrong with me._

His kind had been all but extinct at the time of his birth. From an early age he had been taught of the Shinigami's well-meaning but ruthless decimation of the Quincy, and how in lieu of his father's desertion he was fully expected by his family to pick up the slack. To carry on the bloodline, or to avenge his people upon the Shinigami. Possibly both.

Throwing that away to _help_ a Shinigami seemed foolish in retrospect, but he blocked that line of reasoning almost immediately. Ichigo was no Shinigami, in form or in mind. He didn't share their blind arrogance, their slavish devotion to the traditions of their forefathers. More than once Ichigo had butted heads with those regulations himself, starting with the one that had demanded the execution of Rukia Kuchiki and gotten him dragged along for the ride.

So maybe he would die now, the entire Quincy lineage dying along with him. _Gramps never pressured me to find someone... he just assumed I would know what was expected of me. _But in all that time he had never found that special someone to be with, and deliberately hooking up with a girl just so he could have a descendent felt undeniably wrong.

It wasn't only fear of his own life lost then, but an ancient lineage gone forever. Realizing that, Uryu shook it away violently. Running away from this battle... would not allow him to live. It would only give him some time to tidy up his few lingering affairs before the crushing guilt caused him to find some other way to die.

_Focus_, he ordered himself, fingering the electric blue strings of _Ginrei Kojaku. Ten seconds. Focus, and you may not have to die at all._

* * *

><p>From his prone position on the roof, Hyn Alumirr stifled a wistful chuckle at hearing the Shinigami's determined words. They had performed better than expected, but take him down? Never.<p>

He had over a dozen shots littering the warren of buildings in the _Bashi_ district now, each shell feeding him back nearby speech through his _Ianzamento, _and even allowing him to taunt his prey, possibly goad them into a rash move.

It appeared that would no longer work on that young-looking Shinigami with the white hair. He'd kept his temper under control, and restrained the red-haired one with the tattoos with him from charging head-on into death. Any time they became vulnerable, another one of those blasted barrier spells would be there to stop his shot.

So Hyn forced restraint on himself as well. There _were_ other prey to be considered, such as that blue-haired Quincy boy. Impressively, he'd managed to nearly disappear ever since their initial exchange, only occasionally giving away his position with heavy breathing near one of the shells.

Then there was that orange-haired human, Kurosaki Ichigo, trying in vain to get Rangiku Matsumoto's broken body somewhere where Hyn's shots could not reach. He could be easily killed of course, but the orders were not to kill that one, even if Demalza couldn't find him just yet. She was out there too, her pets carefully combing the streets for the scent of the substitute Shinigami.

_Kill the Quincy, then_. Unlike the Shinigami he'd known from the start how to fight such an opponent as this. Worse, he seemed to possess some means of determining his location, even if he didn't dare come close enough to be easily hit. "What are you up to, young Quincy?"

"Stick around and find out", the boy's voice came back to him. "It's almost ready."

"I'm not a patient man by nature. Perhaps I'll spend my time firing on your Shinigami friends instead."

"First: you're not a man. Second: our way of fighting requires a great deal of patience so don't give me that. Third: the Shinigami are _not_ my friends. Go ahead and kill them. If you can."

He was right on two out of three counts, Hyn noted bemusedly. Still, there were other ways of locating his prey. It had been too long since he'd had need to use them, that was all. Targets like this were a challenge to him, not a frustration. He stretched out his trained senses, feeling into each shell, searching for the noise that would give away his target.

_There_. Footsteps 300 meters to his left. The baby-faced captain and his red-haired associate running down another street, a curious contrast of size considering the differing levels of spiritual power he sensed from them. Once again the captain had his annoying barrier _Kido_ ready, angled in the same direction most of his shots had come from. A direct shot would destroy it but give Hitsugaya time to run, hide, teleport, and remake it again. _And_ give them a better idea of where he was.

So he didn't fire directly. His _Ianzamento_ searched the district and found a crucial bit of metal- a car less than 50 meters from his targets. Lining up the shot with great care, he was rewarded with the sound of a ricochet and the sight of the captain's icy wings shattering and him bleeding, nearly falling over. Not dead, but his _Bankai_ destroyed and his hopes of victory along with it. A few more seconds, and he could take down the redhead as well...

A blue bolt caught his attention. Not due to its power, but the fact that it had flown directly over his head to strike a roof less than 80 meters away from his spot. _The Quincy again. Best to eliminate him now- he's the only one left who has a chance at discovering my position._

The boy had overreached himself, Hyn decided. By firing those shots, he had called attention to his own perch, a school rooftop. It only took a few adjustments to spot that white coat and pants, and line up the shot even as he bounded away from it. "Sorry Quincy", he muttered, making sure not to accidentally talk through his shells this time. "He who risks, loses."

He hadn't quite regained the sure footing of his previous position and so the _crack_ of the shot knocked him off slightly. Still, it had hit its mark, and all he had to do was confirm-

He blinked back. Cursed. The Quincy was still standing, this time on a shingle roof. Had he missed? Impossible. The shot had been dead-on! _Fine, call it a miracle. But _don't_ miss the next one._

Hyn was better anchored for the next shot, and this time caught the flash immediately after he'd hit the trigger. _Something there. Something that neutralized the shot. How?_

_The arrows, _he realized with a start. _The metal ones he kept shooting random roofs with before. Looked like a web. _Without any further delays, his target pushed off the roof with his legs into a high jump, heading directly for his position!

_Break the web, _Hyn decided in a panic. _Destroy the arrows. Kill him. Kill him!_

Three more shots rang out, destroying three _Seele Schneider_. Hyn returned his focus to the real target only to find him gone again. Then, the sound of footsteps on the nearby concrete drew his focus back to his immediate surroundings. More importantly, the boy standing right in front of him, glowing blue bow at the ready. _Without_ his white Quincy uniform. Just the black undergarments, but he didn't appear to be shivering.

It was impossible. The Quincy had been coming at him from the other side. He had been hiding, unable to move that close. "How...?"

"The Shinigami made good diversions", he confessed, not moving his eyes from his target. "But if you wait a bit longer, you'll see who really helped me."

Hyn moved his own weapon up. "Some new Quincy art? I must confess there's much about your kind I don't know. It might be we're closer than you think."

"Hardly", Ishida dismissed it. "Quincies might use _Reishi_ to form bows and swords, but we don't drain it out of living beings. Even our styles aren't as close as I figured- your shot might be over a thousand times more powerful than one of my arrows, but I can at least fire them rapidly for as long as I need to. Every time you shoot just _one_ shot, you have to take a whole 10 seconds to load another shell with your _Reiatsu _before you can do it again. A serious flaw."

"It's why I operate from a distance", Hyn confessed before moving his free hand to hold the barrel steady on Ishida's small head. "Not the only one to make a mistake though. This close in, you have nothing to interfere with my shot. I can survive a few arrows from you, but can you say the same?"

The Shinigami chose that moment to make their appearance, both leaping up from the ground level with their weapons drawn. "I see you made it too", their captain observed. "Good. Now we can end this properly. _Hyorinmaru!"_

Having only one shot to use against the three, Hyn hesitated. They had his number; none of them would be so stupid as to let him drain their energy this time. _Amazing. Either I've become lax or these kids worked together much better than I ever would have guessed._

Finally, the Quincy's aforementioned helper climbed up onto the roof, wearing the white coat and pants that had diverted his attention. "You were right, Uryu", Sado Yasutora spoke softly, without arrogance. "My giant's arm was just strong enough to protect against those ricochets, make him think your technique was protecting me."

"And from that distance, the Spirit Eater assumed anyone wearing the Quincy's coat and pants was me", Uryu finished. "Good thing I saw you when I did."

Four against one now. He could kill one of them, but the others would immediately fall on him with avenging wrath. Looking chagrined for only a moment, Hyn shifted his weapon again, pointing it to the right with one hand. "Well done, Quincy. But this is no mere game. For us, it is victory or death."

"Would you settle on death, pal?", Renji growled. He'd long since become aggravated by Hyn's style of fighting and was eager to strike with his weapon.

He stood, calm once more. "This may seem cowardly, but throwing my life away is not what Zatsua would want. Look at where my _Ianzamento _is pointing now."

Not all of them looked of course. No one wanted to give him an opening, but when Hitsugaya cursed the rest took him at his word. "He's aimed at an apartment window. There's a little human girl in there, playing with her toys."

"Yes", Hyn agreed reluctantly. This was not a tactic he had ever wanted to use. Around him, his prey tensed up. "Attack me now, and my final shot shall kill that girl. Let me go, and no one dies tonight."

"Deal", Hitsugaya grunted out after a moment. "But tell your master Zatsua that next time, she won't be able to hide behind civilian shields. None of you will, ever again."

"I'll deliver your message", Hyn promised. "Regardless... I get the feeling we'll meet again."

* * *

><p>Though tired from a long night spent fleeing danger, Ichigo's heart grew lighter as each member of the strike team made their way to the warehouse Toshiro Hitsugaya had marked as the 'rendezvous point' before even arriving to combat the Spirit Eaters. Chad and Renji had both made it back without trouble, and now the four of them all sat in the dimly-lit area, listening intently for signs of another attack.<p>

One was lain down on the floor, not moving. "Matsumoto. Is she...?"

"She'll live", Toshiro said grimly at the body of his vice captain. "The shot struck her in the back, it looks like. You did very well to get her to safety, Kurosaki. Once she is returned to Soul Society she should make a full recovery. Until then, I will guard her."

It took him a moment to recognize what he saw in the child-faced Shinigami's eyes- gratitude. If only he could be so lucky with his other friends. "But the one who did that to her... he got away?"

"Barely", Renji added angrily. "He's the one that retreated, not us. We won, at least for now."

So they had no one to question, no one to lead them to Tatsuki and Orihime. "Thanks for helping, by the way. I didn't think-"

"We were not there to save _you_, Kurosaki", Toshiro cut in. In a situation like this, he could be forgiven for being curt and aloof. "We were there to locate one of our number who had also disappeared, a young one assigned to this city named Rutori Igenari."

"Never heard of him."

The captain shrugged. "He never exactly stood out. It takes centuries of training to develop a powerful _Zanpaktou, _or a reputation like those held by the Shinigami you've already met. But I'm now positive that he and Tatsuki Arisawa are being held by the same group, somewhere in this city."

The massiveness of the task seemed to press down on him for a moment, but he did not lower his gaze from the Shinigami's turquoise eyes. "What's the plan, then?"

Toshiro seemed to consider the request a moment, studying both Sado and Matsumoto's wounds. The former had returned to his usual garb, and would not say where Uryu had gone to. "I've already informed my superiors on the risks of using a _Rukongai_ gate anywhere in this city to bring reinforcements in... or to evacuate our wounded. Unlike in Karakura Town, we have to remain aware of the hundreds of thousands of humans who live here who may not be as used to spectral activity, though they can certainly see the Spirit Eaters. We must take every precaution not to cause unnecessary deaths."

On the other side of the room, he could see Sado and the rest acknowledge that provision. It ran contrary to the beliefs of whoever had made Matoba Arisawa create the Spirit Eaters in the first place, and banished any part of him that might have believed Demalza Sanhas's words.

Ichigo had never really felt like he fit into the Soul Society; not so long as some part of him remained human. But of all the bizarre spiritual entities he'd encountered, these were the friendliest of the bunch, and so he didn't mind how formal and hidebound they could be at times. No more than he minded always getting drawn into their battles as much as he might have.

_Besides_, he remembered, _in this case it's more like they're getting drawn into _my_ battle. We share the same enemy, and I'm sure that Hitsugaya would never take Tatsuki and Orihime's lives lightly._

"I've arranged a point outside the city where reinforcements can come in", Hitsugaya went on, heedless of Ichigo's inner thoughts. "But I'll take no chances- someone has to guard that point to make sure no Spirit Eaters get through."

If he had been expecting Ichigo to volunteer for that he would be solely disappointed. "I'll do it", Renji announced after a moment. "One less Shinigami for them to drain."

An impressive sacrifice- everyone there knew Renji to be eager for more action up close when his friends were fighting. "For now", the captain agreed. "That warning must be passed on as well, now that it's been confirmed; any Shinigami encountering a Spirit Eater must ensure that they do not touch their skin and drain their_ reishi._ Our enemies are powerful enough as things stand."

That would be a tough choice, he realized. As devastatingly powerful as all the 13 Court Guard Squad captains were, the risk of letting one of them be drained might have outweighed how effective they might be against future enemies. "Only a handful", he guessed. "No other captains just yet. Who did you have in mind?"

Again Hitsugaya give him a dirty look but didn't rebuke him, pointing. "I guess you wouldn't be able to detect it in human form- our first new arrival is already here. She's right outside that door."

The metal sheet swung open, and for once Ichigo forgot about the weight of guilt that had hung over him for many days. Rukia Kuchiki's short but graceful form was wandering into the temporary 'base', dark eyes set and her expression serious. "Rukia... I was wondering if you'd-"

Her answer was a slap across his face Turning he was about to yell at her, but then his mind caught up and realized he'd felt no pain from it. In fact he felt lighter than air, and strong enough to punch through the room's metal. The sight of his human body on the ground, normally alarming, now filled him with a deep satisfaction at the return of something he'd lost days before. Something he'd missed more than he thought possible.

His Shinigami form had been restored to him, and at full power too.

"Right", he observed, looking at the girl's hand and rubbing his cheek irritably. "Your glove. Like old times."

"I brought the rest as well", his former 'mentor' continued, talking more to the entire group now. Then grinned maliciously. "And Kon for you. He specifically asked to come."

He groaned, facepalming. "Wonderful." Kon was one of the artificial souls created to aid the Shinigami against Hollows, but he was so hyper and perverted most of the time that his annoyance nearly outweighed his usefulness whenever he wasn't in the stuffed lion doll they usually kept him. Letting_ him_ take control of Ichigo's human body while he went off playing Shinigami was something he'd learned to grin and bear, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Then you'll be glad to know we won't be initiating any further offensives until after the second wave comes through", Toshiro said, hiding any amusement he might have felt at this scenario. "For now, we maintain a low profile. Easy enough for most of us, but_ you_ are actually their highest priority target, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Bring 'em on", he replied. He was reborn, renewed. He felt even stronger than he'd been before the Spirit Eater had touched his skin. "They won't catch me like that ever again."

"All the same", the captain said with a touch more irritation. "You should avoid fighting them unless necessary. As we learned, they aren't afraid to use humans as hostages. Stay in your human form for the time being. Do you have the funds to book a room in this city for the two of you?"

"Taken care of", Rukia interrupted before he could protest that he'd left his wallet back at the police station, raising a small pouch. "Here. This should be enough."

He gaped. She wasn't kidding- the bag contained at least 400000 Yen! "Alright. Will you be coming with us?"

"Not me", Toshiro decided. "We know that Spirit Eaters can detect a Shinigami's spiritual power. The greater the power is, the further away they can sense it from. That's why I'll be heading to the drop point for the time being, along with Matsumoto."

Turning to Rukia, he nodded. "Kuchiki-senpai. It's your choice if you wish to stay with him or not, so long as you lower your _Reiatsu_ to its absolute minimum to help avoid detection. If it rises back up, we'll know you're in danger and send someone to help."

Ichigo looked from one of them to the other, then back again. It seemed impossible for those two to completely miss the bizarreness of the scenario they'd suggested. "You want us to...? You think I can...?"

"Is there a _problem_, Kurosaki?"

Wilting under the girl's dagger gaze as per usual, he sighed in exasperation. "Yeah I've missed you too, Rukia. Maybe the room we get will have a closet for you."

_Now_ she laughed.

* * *

><p>The rest of the night and the following morning went by without any further problems, to his great surprise.<p>

Dropping back into his human body, Ichigo had felt the wear of the night hit him anew, but it wasn't enough to stop him and Sado from finding a motel a ways away from the _Bashi_ district. The room was spartan but functional with, he couldn't help noticing, a closet just about the same size as the one at his house. Six hours' sleep felt like it might have been ten, and before he knew it he'd eaten breakfast, washed up, dressed, and returned to the streets feeling like a new man.

"Be careful, Ichigo", Sado reminded him once. "They're still looking for you. You said that the Spirit Eaters have made the police their ally?"

"One guy", he corrected him, remembering the interrogator who had tried to turn him over to Demalza, "maybe more. But we should be safe so long as we stay out of the _Bashi_."

"These people must really have scared you Ichigo", Rukia commented, their 'invisible' third member following behind. "I didn't think I'd ever see you trying to _avoid_ a fight."

"I'm not an idiot, Rukia", he protested. "Once I find out where those guys are holed up, we can take care of them together. Until then, it's safer for me to stay human."

"An actual tactical decision from you", she couldn't help chuckling over that. "I never thought I'd see the day. But you are right. Human form is a lot better for this kind of work, and there doesn't seem to be any Hollows in this city at all."

Before either of them could protest she dashed off, returning some ten minutes after wearing a magenta T-shirt and beige shorts instead of the black Shinigami robes. "There. Much better."

He gaped. "You stole those?"

She looked mock-hurt. "_Borrowed_. If they knew the truth I'm sure they'd understand, and I'll return them once this is over. Got a _problem_?"

Issues of property aside, he had to admit it was nice having Rukia beside him 'in the flesh' instead of a spiritual presence that only they could see and hear. In fact the shorts and T-shirt complimented her small body well, considering she'd just picked them out of a clothing store. "No Hollows anywhere? Really?"

She shrugged. "I was surprised as you. Igenari wasn't exactly world-class Shinigami material. With him gone I thought they'd be running out of control... but I haven't sensed a single one yet."

"The Spirit Eaters", Sado noted absently, as if those word explained everything. "Hollows have _Reiatsu_ too. They eat them to stay alive, just like Shinigami."

"Makes sense", he considered. Snapped his fingers in triumph. "That's what we'll do. Arisawa-sensei ran off in the first battle. He knows everything about the Spirit Eaters, including their weaknesses."

The Shinigami noble blinked. She had been briefed on a good deal about their current foes, but not this. "Arisawa-sensei?"

"Their creator, Tatsuki's uncle. But don't worry, he's on our side." _At least I hope so. Tatsuki was the final straw? Why? What does she have to do with this? _"All we have to do is find him- we'll be safe as long as we stay human."

"Maybe", she said noncommittally. "We have our orders. And now I can remember; human forms have their drawbacks too." The grumble from his stomach was all he needed to hear to understand.

"Rukia, don't talk about 'human forms' ", he ordered after seeing an extremely confused older man passing them by on the street. "They'll think we're aliens or something."

"What are you talking about? You're the one who just said 'as long as we stay human'!"

"HEY! You're the one who decided to join us like that! Don't blame me just because you were bored!"

"Stop." The simple word from Sado made them stop yelling at each other long enough to realize the argument had drawn more attention that way than talking about 'human forms' ever had. Two dozen were staring at them now. "Ah... Heheh... I... Uh...!"

"We're rehearsing for a play", Rukia offered pleasantly. " 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers!' " To complete the tableau, she raised both hands into mock grasping claws. "We're the going to be the evil shapeshifting aliens! Pretty good, eh?"

That seemed to satisfy them, though they all picked up a number of odd stares while searching for a restaurant.

In fact after a while of deciding Ichigo had become so used to them that he nearly missed the golden eyes of a more familiar face walking through the crowd before taking a seat at one of the other outdoor tables.

Checking again to make sure, he cursed. That was Reeve Pastell alright. The fiery Spirit Eater who had attacked them on the way to Naruki and drained fully half of Ichigo's spiritual power with only a touch of the hands. The man was wearing street clothes today, only retaining the teal jacket from before. He was ordering teriyaki chicken with soy milk as though nothing in the world was wrong with him being there.

Giving Sado and Rukia another minute to come back, he carefully slid over to the table. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here, Spirit Eater. Or are we supposed to think this is a coincidence?"

"No coincidence", Reeve replied without looking up from his food, and robbed somewhat of his former swagger. "Not even I would take those odds. But I'm not here to fight you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

_Oh? What then, are you going to try and shake my hand again? _He had to dredge up the souls he'd felt depart in their first meeting, remember how their despair had felt to stay angry, and remember that he couldn't trust a thing this rat said. "No? Why are you here then?"

"As usual", Reeve maintained, biting into the first bit of chicken with a ferocity that made some of the other patrons stop and stare for a moment. "I'm here for me. I'm here to negotiate, Kurosaki."

Glancing around, he double checked to make sure his friends were ready. With a gesture, Rukia could free his Shinigami self from his body and they could triple-team him. "Negotiate, huh?"

Holding up both hands to reveal he held only a knife and fork- plastic, _not_ metal that he might forge into some kind of weapon- he gave his usual malicious grin. "Look around you, Kurosaki. We start fighting now, a whole buncha humans are gonna get caught in the crossfire. Mind you, Zatsua always said that Shinigami don't give a damn about collateral damage, but I didn't really believe her."

"He's right, Ichigo", Rukia ordered carefully. "Don't do anything stupid; this guy isn't just some Hollow. They can see him _and_ us."

"Yes, listen to your midget nanny", Reeve teased her. "It's your choice Kurosaki. If you wanna street rumble now, I'm more than ready. So what's it gonna be?"

It wasn't hard to decide. Rukia was right this time. In front of all these humans in the middle of the day was_ not_ the place to go into a climactic battle with a Spirit Eater. No matter how much he might want to wipe that idiotic grin off Reeve's face, and avenge his earlier defeat. "Urgh... _Fine_. Negotiate. What is it that you want, Pastell?"

The grin widened along with golden eyes, and he pushed aside the chicken. "Pretty simple. You've got questions... I've got answers."

* * *

><p>AN: I'm starting to think that I may never be able to write a good comedy fic- even the exchanges here designed to lighten the mood up after Hyn seem kind of forced. Rukia is not here just because I like her and she's a common sight- she will have an actual character arc starting next chapter.

In that sense, I think the chapter's first paragraph is my favourite; a lot of this series seems to take for granted that the human or near-human TEENAGE characters possess no fear when going into a life-or-death battle against freakish creatures like Hollows. Even when he's completely outmatched Ichigo seems immune to battle stress, but it's a bit strange to have the rest of them so stoic like that as well. Hopefully this is conveyed the way I wanted and not just Uryu navel gazing before springing into action. Anyway, reviews appreciated.


	7. Part 7: Spirit Dreamer

_Part 7: Spirit Dreamer_

* * *

><p>Escorting Orihime into the holding room, the tall Spirit Eater called Frigeld gave no sign of dislike, or much in the way of emotion at all. Had she not overheard him talk normally when negotiating the terms of this little 'visit', she might have figured the tidy robed man to be as stilted and robotic as Nogrand Juno.<p>

He didn't seem like someone she wanted to mess with even if he'd been the weakest of his kind, and according to princess Adre's grudging confession, just the opposite was true. He was the strongest; the one used by Dr. Zatsua to keep unruly ones like Reeve and herself in line. Still, the way he stood by with muscular arms folded as she peered into the darkness at the back of the room was encouraging. If not exactly safe, she could be confident no one else would mess with her.

The figure held there, by contrast, looked worse than she'd imagined. Eyes nearly concealed under overgrown ash-black bangs, the Shinigami might have looked as young and energetic as Ichigo once, but was now haggard and pale. His breathing was awkward and heavy- Orihime suspected the metal bonds holding his arms and legs weren't even needed to keep him here, a prisoner like herself.

"Youuuu...", he murmured brokenly as she approached, "are not... one of... them?"

"No", she shook her head, wide-eyed. Without waiting to see if Frigeld approved, she raised her hands and began invoking _Soten Kisshu_. The Shinigami boy's skin remained deathly gray, but he seemed to stir a little from it, raising his head so they could look eye to eye. "What...?"

"I rejected some of the damage. Sorry I can't do more."

"Don't be", he replied with a new vigour in his words. "It's better than I've felt in weeks, so thank you. I'm Rutori Igenari, spiritual guardian of Naruki City... But why did they take you prisoner, girl?"

She briefly explained the circumstances which had gotten her into this. "You're either brave", Rutori said gravely after she finished, "or suicidal. Zatsua will never let you leave this lab while there's a chance you could lead someone else here to their doom."

"I wasn't planning on it", she admitted nervously. It had already become clear that she would never get away from here without help, and Rutori was in no condition to provide it. "I just want to survive until help comes. I'm just glad Adre-sama- sorry, Adre... likes me so much."

"The little girl", he acknowledged sluggishly. The connection was clear from the long-sleeved azure ball gown that Orihime herself now wore. "She's insane, but not as brutal as many of them. She doesn't hurt me when she's feeding."

So that was it, the reason why this Shinigami was in such awful condition. "Day after day they feed off my _reiatsu", _he explained breathily, "keeping me weak, but never quite finishing the job. There's about two dozen or so Hollows kept in a separate lab off the main hall, but I'm their biggest meal. I can't resist them when they come."

"I'm sorry." It was all she could think of to say. He might have been hundreds of years old, but he still looked like a boy younger than Ichigo or herself, and one badly abused by his captors.

"Don't be. If your friends really are coming, that's a bright hope right there. I was worried Soul Society would never get around to looking for me, a low-ranked Soul Reaper."

"Then maybe you can help me", she nodded brightly. "Have you heard of or seen a girl named Tatsuki Arisawa?"

The young-looking Shinigami closed his burnt-out eyes. He looked about to cry. "Apologies, miss Inoue. As you can see, the constant draining has taken its toll on me. Some days I can barely see at all. But I will ask to speak with you again if I hear that name. That is all I can offer."

"Rest", she commanded agreeably. "It's doctor's orders. And don't worry- my friends will come. They'll save me, you, and Tatsuki-chan..."

She left him with a look of renewed hope, but got a dirty glare from Frigeld as they began the trip back to Adre's room. "You should not tease him with false hope, Orihime Inoue", the tall man scolded her as they walked together. "I dislike such cruelty myself."

"It's not false", she argued back, momentarily forgetting who had the power here. "They'll come. I can feel it."

Frigeld scoffed as if sensing her doubts on that score. "Then they will die along with their false Gods."

He spoke the words with great certainty and conviction. But now she knew for sure that this one wouldn't hurt her offhand, even if she spoke out. Just a feeling she had, but those were almost always right. "You're wrong. It's complicated. Kurosaki-kun... he risked everything to save me once. It's what he does. You'll understand some day."

He halted before Adre's door, never breaking composure. "I pray that is not a threat, Orihime Inoue. In truth repenting, severing your ties with that Shinigami, is the only possible way you can leave here alive.. and it may just be the only way you might yet save his life. So if you truly love him, I would advise you to think long and hard on this matter. Because when the time comes, be assured that no Shinigami shall be spared God's wrath."

Arms clutched tight to the dress' waist, she shook her head sadly. Orihime hated the very_ idea_ of having people that she would refer to as her 'enemies'. But she could no longer deny that she was looking directly into the eyes of an 'enemy'. _Faith. It's all about faith, I guess. This guy... he seems to have complete and utter faith in his power, and in whatever God he believes in._

_And me? I have faith in my friends... In Kurosaki-kun._

* * *

><p>"You want to<em> talk<em>", Ichigo repeated, incredulous. "If it weren't for all these people we'd take you down right here and now. What the hell makes you think we would ever talk to YOU?"

Reeve Pastell looked pleased as punch by contrast, but never let his eyes stray from Ichigo's intense glare. "Because I got what you want, buddy. And you got what I want. I'll tell ya up front; none of the other Spirit Eaters know that I'm here talkin' to ya. It's against orders."

Every muscle in his body still wanted to throttle this creep, but looking at Rukia and Sado at their tables on the cafe's outdoor patio, he could tell that wasn't what they wanted. "Fine. But don't call me buddy. Just what did you have in mind?"

"An exchange. I'll let you ask me three questions about whatever you like."

"And in return?"

Now the obsessive hunger returned to Reeve's eyes. "You shake my hand. For thirty seconds."

Without checking with his friends this time, he scoffed. "Yeah right. Last time you did that I couldn't walk for a whole day. You want me to let you steal even _more_ of my spiritual power to use on someone? Fat chance."

"Number one", the young man began ticking items off on his fingers, "you're in human form at the moment, so the drain will happen a lot slower and be less painful, you sissy. Number two, you've lost your badge so you're no use to the Shinigami in battle anyway. Number three... Unless you let me..._ indulge_, you're out of luck, Kurosaki. Didn't you come here to save that Tatsuki chick of yours?"

"Take me, then", Rukia piped up unexpectedly, rolling up one sleeve of her T-shirt. "Thirty seconds shouldn't be enough to kill me, right?"

Ichigo sat up, eyes wide. "Rukia, _no_. This guy's a dirtbag. We can't trust him."

"I don't recall asking your opinion. And in case you've forgotten, this is a Soul Society problem now. I want those answers, if he'll give them." The coldness of her reply threw him long enough for Reeve to take a few more idle bites of his lunch, licking his lips. _Just preparing himself for what he hopes is gonna be the main course_, he couldn't help thinking.

To his partial relief, the Spirit Eater waved one hand in dismissal. "Sorry toots. I got a diet to consider; Kurosaki's the only one I want."

_Odd. Draining Rukia would give him way more power than I would as a human. What's he up to? "_Twenty seconds."

He shrugged. "Fine. Two questions."

"Done." Looking back at the others, he saw recognition in their eyes. If Reeve held on longer than promised, they wouldn't hesitate to force him.

Satisfied, the thug finished his plate and did a last-minute check. "Done. You first. What d'you want to know?"

That was almost as hard as agreeing to this insane deal in the first place. Ichigo thought hard. There were a multitude of things he wanted to ask about, and they all seemed important. "A moment. I want to talk this over with my friends."

Seeing his affirmative, they huddled a way away from the table. "Their hideout", Rukia demanded right away. "We haven't been able to find it yet."

"Like we can trust anything this guy says", he shot back. Had she always been this rude, or was it their time spent apart? "I was going to ask about Tatsuki-chan."

"She's _at their hideout_", she whispered shrilly. "If you ask him, he'll just say that. And if he's such a liar why did you go along with it?"

"So that you wouldn't!"

"You-!"

"Enough", Chad cut them both off. "Not the time to fight."

The Shinigami noble glared at, but here Ichigo noticed how reluctant she was to yell at him. Chad wasn't easy to stay mad at, especially when he was right. "What do you think then?"

His friend looked uncomfortable being asked. "I think you should ask about the hideout, Ichigo. Both of them might be there, and if not we can ask this Dr. Jutani Zatsua."

"There, see?"

"You be quiet. Fine. But the second question's mine."

"You seemed a bit tense there", Reeve commented cheerfully as he returned to his seat. "A little spat among friends, hm?"

"None of your business", he growled. "Anyway, I've decided. We know that you guys have some kind of hideout in this city. I want to know where it is."

The Spirit Eater looked remarkable unconcerned, merely shrugging it off. "Alright. Zatsua's lab is in an industrial zone about half a mile north of the _Bashi_ district. It's hidden underneath a condemned factory."

Ichigo held up a hand. "Wait, which factory? There might be dozens there, you have to tell us which one."

"Is that your second question?"

_Dirty-! _"No. We'll find it ourselves, thanks. Second question: What are you?"

Reeve's eyebrow arched. "Uh. Care to clarify that?"

Ichigo smiled. A less obvious question than the first intrigued the Spirit Eater, and made it less likely he'd dodge the question. "Gladly. Before I go to fight your kind, I have to know where you came from. You're not spiritual beings yourselves. And the way you blend in here..."

Reeve chuckled. "So that's it. Yeah Kurosaki, you've got us pegged. Or at least half of us."

"Half?"

Suddenly serious again, the man wiped his eyes. "Half. The original Spirit Eaters were made that way to start with. They were strong, fast, did everything they needed to... except for the fact that they were all a bunch of _baka _retards."

"Not helpful", Rukia said, clearly annoyed by Ichigo's choice of question. "Keep going or you get nothing."

Reeve threw up both hands. "Hey easy, I was about to. About twenty years ago someone had the brainstorm that if you put a normal human through those modifications, you might get a smarter Spirit Eater. Smarter, _and_ easier to blend in with people."

"So it's true". Ichigo felt his heart sink. It was as he'd feared. "Most of you are from human 'stock'."

"Correctamundo." Throwing the hands back around his head, he put both feet up on the table, pushing the plates off. "Changes how you feel about things, does it?"

"Maybe. How long have you-?"

Now he'd touched a nerve- the superior smirk and lazy dialect were nearly gone from his face. In their place was just a frightened human, just about his own age. "Those modifications- the proteins have to be injected at the start of a human's life. So they got a better idea- let us live out normal lives until they needed us. Then, they switch on the specialized organs, the senses for detecting spirit energy... and we become their 'sleeper agents'... their 'Spirit Dreamers'."

"You had no choice", Chad noted bleakly. "You gained those powers?"

"On my 17th Birthday, yeah." Reeve waved the words away like a swarm of biting gnats. "That's why we're not s'posed to give people our names. In case someone..."

"...In case someone from your old life recognizes you", Ichigo finished for him, his hands suddenly numb on the table. He was no longer hungry. "Reeve. They took that life away from you. You don't have to do what Zatsua says-"

"Hence why I'm here", the Spirit Eater countered. "I do what I _want_, Kurosaki. Killing Shinigami by draining their energy? Yeah, _whatever_. When I feel like it. I just wanna-" Stopping abruptly, he caught himself and smiled again. "Eh. I think that's a fair trade, don't you? Now. My end of the deal."

Ichigo looked from Rukia to Chad, then back again. Neither of them wanted to see this happen, but he'd gotten more information out of the Spirit Eater that he would have guessed... and a part of him knew it had to be the truth.

Deep breath. This wouldn't be nearly as bad as last time, but it would still hurt him terribly, likely leave him too weak to talk for many hours afterwards. "I'll do it. Remember, twenty seconds. Then you get your dirty hands off me, or Rukia will _take _them off. Are we clear?"

"Crystal". Pulling back his left jacket sleeve, the man looked quite pleased with the result even before taking it. "One more thing, Kurosaki. A question that's not a part of our deal. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

He braced himself, not caring for the words as they came on.

"You asked me before why I do what I do. I ask the same thing to you, 'cause I don't understand; why do you fight for those two _devotchkas_ Inoue and Arisawa? Why not choose one of them and be done with it? Why protect anyone at all, when they don't do anything for you?"

There was no time to formulate an answer; Reeve clapped one predatory hand onto his face, and all other considerations vanished.

"AAAAAGHHH-"

* * *

><p>Toshiro Hitsugaya surveyed his new force with mixed feelings. On one hand, he had known from the start that they weren't about to risk sending any more Shinigami as powerful as himself yet.<p>

On the other, that meant that all of these looked to_ him_ to lead. Some of them were not even members of one of the 13 squads. If they fell, if they died or were drained to death, it was on him. He would be responsible.

So he spared them none of his typical frostiness, driving home the point that if they allowed themselves to be caught off guard, they would be helping the enemy far more than their presence could make up for. And they would probably_ still_ die for it.

"This enemy was designed solely to destroy our kind", he emphasized furiously. "So if one of your abilities suddenly becomes useless,_ don't_ waste time being shocked, because they certainly won't. Move on to something else, and stay with the group so you can cover each other's backs."

Without warning he lunged out, grabbing a Shinigami cadet who had been joking at the back by the scruff of his robe. "Maybe you didn't hear me, Yomiki. I said to _avoid distractions. _You give them any more energy to absorb, I'll kill you myself._"_

"Y-yes, sir."

"Pardon?"

"Yes, Captain Hitsugaya, SIR!"

Now he had them scared. Good. At his side, Abarai looked like he was mulling over stepping in as the kiddies' defence, but thought better of it. He was no Matsumoto, but he would do.

_Matsumoto_. Amazingly, he actually missed that spoiled-rotten woman. She was back home now, recuperating from the attack that had nearly killed her. _In one shot. _Hopefully all of them wouldn't be quite _that_ strong.

The gate behind him flashed, and he suddenly felt a great spiritual presence. "How go the preparations?"

"Middling", the other captain said in clear frustration. "You might think after all we've been through lately, the squads would be ready for something like this."

That voice...? He'd expected a messenger from home, though didn't know exactly who it would be. Turning, he saw several of the cadets staring in confusion at a cat. "Yoruichi-san. You were the last one I expected to be performing this important duty." He felt it imprudent to mention his scorn for how the former head of the assassination squad had been freeloading with the exile, Kisuke Urahara, for so long that she was nearly a stranger in her own home dimension.

And just like Urahara, the female Shinigami didn't seem to care much what the captains thought of her. "A lot of them still aren't taking this seriously", the cat spoke up sheepishly. "They think it's just a bunch of malcontent humans with spiritual senses."

"But not you?"

With a sigh, the cat slowly reverted to its true state- a willowy woman with a lush purple ponytail and brown skin, wearing an orange tunic in lieu of a Shinigami's robes, further marking her exile status. "Just a feeling. If the reports are true, you'll need all the skilled fighters you can get your hands on for this. So here I am 'Shiro, at your service."

Hitsugaya stared at her. Soifon and several of the others would object to it, but they weren't here. He wasn't so rigid that he couldn't accept help when needed... hence why he hadn't simply ordered Ichigo Kurosaki's band back home to safety. "Accepted. You know the danger here?"

She nodded. "Of course. If they drain you or me, they absorb our powers and become considerably more dangerous." Digging at a pack at her side, she fished out some black yarn material. "So I brought gloves, enough for a dozen of us."

An unusual amount of preparation for an exile, he observed. With those on, their only open spot would be their heads, which they would simply have to be careful to protect. "Uruhara's work?"

She snorted. "Fat chance. That guy couldn't sew to save his life. Actually, Uryu Ishida made these a while back when he was with us. Now we get to put them to use."

"One more we owe the Quincy", he said uncomfortably. Seeing his own pair, he did a double-take; both of them looked normal enough from a distance, but the backsides both held a cute cartoon depiction of his own head, complete with a friendly expression he couldn't ever recall making. "Or... not. Are they all like that?"

"Afraid so". Grinning mischievously, Yoruichi held up her own pair, which bore the artist's sugary cute interpretation of Ichigo's head. "Are we going with a dozen?"

He thought for a moment. _Easy enough to get more from some shop in this city if we really had to. _"A dozen, then. You, me, Abarai, Kurosaki, Rukia, Hatsururu, and the rest of Squad 10. Everyone else guards the gate."

Groans sounded all around him. He didn't care. He only wanted the ones he could trust on this mission with him.

Sounds of a scuffle drew his attention away from the rejects' disappointment, and he walked over to see two cadets handling an elderly-looking human. From the way he was pushing them away with his lit cigar, it was clear he could see them. "Is there a problem here, sir?", he asked, putting on his best cross glare. "Or were you thinking you could make a late-night snack out of one of us?"

The man glared back defiantly, returning the cig to his mouth. "I'm not a Spirit Eater, young man. I'm here to help you."

Toshiro gritted his teeth. "Don't call me young man. We Shinigami are many years older than you."

"No insult meant", the man said briskly, puffing once. "I am doctor Matoba Arisawa. And I'm here to help- Shihoin?"

The sight of their newest recruit had stunned Matoba, and from the look in her eyes Yoruichi had been similarly affected. "It's been a long time, Mato-san. I see you still haven't quit."

"It has", he agreed hesitantly. "Indeed it has. Every day I thought of you. Many times I considered death, just to see if my soul could cross over to your world."

"Easy now, you old flirt", she cautioned with one finger. Inwardly though, she smiled. "Too much talk like that and I might get a swelled head like Matsumoto. But it's good to see you again. Even now, when we have to... deal with things."

None of the others were quite sure what to make of all this, but Toshiro raised his hand for the cadets to release him. "Ichigo told us of you. You created the Spirit Eaters."

"To my great regret", the doctor confirmed. "I also regret abandoning him yesterday, but one of them was following me closely and I couldn't be sure I'd lost them until recently. I do have more of the device I gave the Quincy for detecting Spirit Eaters."

Hitsugaya forced himself to look pleased. "Many thanks, Arisawa. I'll include the cooperation you've shown us in my report."

But here Matoba merely waved it away. He had eyes only for the lovely exiled Shinigami at his side. "Don't bother, young man. All I'm concerned with right now is with making amends... undoing the great sins that I've done to your kind, and to over a dozen unwilling human test subjects." Looking pained, he stared out across the cityscape, which was already beginning to take on the evening's lights as the sun set. "I owe it to them all, to end their torment. One way or another."

* * *

><p>"Then it's confirmed", Frigeld spoke to the monitor showing Dr. Zatsua's bespectacled face. "There will be a Shinigami task force arriving here tomorrow."<p>

His creator nodded in satisfaction. "Matoba couldn't give us exact details, but I'd expect at least a dozen, led by a squad Captain. They'll assume we're all still at the lab, and they'd never consent to a fair fight."

"It matters not, doctor", he assured her confidently. This was it. This was the moment he'd waited for. "As I told Orihime Inoue, all Shinigami who set foot in your lab shall die."

"As they should", Zatsua agreed. Still, she seemed for once to lack his faith, or else was distracted by his mention of the human girl. "Still no luck with the princess?"

"Lady Adre maintains that miss Inoue is her Shinigami captive", Frigeld explained. "Personally, I believe she merely desires that girl as her close friend. Meaning no disrespect milady, but the princess has had no one else her age in our organization."

"I know." The doctor looked downcast, momentarily diverted from the business at hand by memories of the youngest Spirit Eater. "I know. All the other attempts became so insane they had to be put down, and I lacked the resources to keep trying after the government severed ties with us. I haven't been fair to her, to my... hm. But when has life ever been fair?"

Back to her usual venal self, Zatsua adjusted her specs enough so that Frigeld could see the fierce eyes lurking behind them. "No matter how this battle goes, I wantAdre to be safe from the carnage at least. Send her away once the attack is confirmed."

"As you command, doctor", Frigeld nodded. "And what of miss Inoue?"

"She should never have gotten involved in this." The doctor's mirrored glasses shone in indifference. "Kill her. But not in front of Adre, preferably. Just tell her that her handmaiden is waiting for her at the rendezvous point."

"Very well." He began moving to cut the communication, but stopped halfway to the button. He was no fool. Despite his faith and all his power and training for this, there would be no way to predict the outcome of the fight that lay ahead- even Lanis was useless in that regard, as frustratingly cryptic as ever. This was it. _This_ could very well be the last time he saw or heard from Jutani Zatsua, his master and creator.

She was not his mother. He knew that. He had not always gone by the name 'Frigeld' either, but was one of the 'Spirit Dreamer' agents planted long ago among human society. The memories of his old life would always be fresh and cherished... but it would take much more than that to make him regret his new cause.

_This_ has_ to happen_, he told himself._ The soul reapers, the Shinigami, are blasphemous. Their very existence is an insult to the true God. They all have to be destroyed. _He would not rest until this goal became reality, and he was up to his knees in the bodies of the fallen enemy. He could almost picture it.

"I thank you for this life, doctor", he whispered, not caring if she heard him. "I would gladly give it a hundred times to our great cause. When the enemy arrives, I shall assault them with everything I am. We all shall."

"I expected no less", Zatsua replied, equally solemn for once. "Above all the rest of them Frigeld, you have always showed the greatest devotion to our mission here. _That_ may be why you are the strongest... well, the_ second_ strongest Spirit Eater now. You don't mind that, do you?"

"Not at all, milady", he assured her, as cheerful as could be for a man going to his death. "Second place is nothing to be ashamed of. And even should we lose the battle, we shall in fact _win _the war. I can go to the beyond knowing that no matter what happens, you shall fulfil our dreams. The reason for our existence."

"Count on it. Honour and luck to you, Frigeld."

"And to you, doctor. Hallelujah."


	8. Part 8: The Enemy's Stronghold

_Part 8: The Enemy's Stronghold_

* * *

><p>Ichigo made no effort to conceal the strength that had been leeched from his body as they arrived at the hill housing the Shinigami's temporary gate the next morning. Even if he had, Rukia would have told Hitsugaya everything about what had happened at the cafe.<p>

To his surprise, the baby-faced captain was not angered much by this, or at least didn't show it. "It's up to you if you wish to participate in this attack, Kurosaki", he declared.

"You're giving me the choice", he noted in amazement. "After all you said about how risky it was that they'd drain one of us and become stronger."

Doubtless feeling Rukia's look of disapproval as keenly as Ichigo himself was, Hitsugaya steered him over to one of the cliffs overlooking Naruki, gesturing to the practicing cadets. "With you, it's a different story from these. The bargain you made with Reeve Pastell would have been necessary in some form had doctor Matoba not defected. Having been drained twice now, you're well aware of what we face, and being more powerful you're less likely to suffer that fate a third time."

Sensing there was more, he sat down, legs dangling off the cliff. "Pastell's a rogue. I don't know if he'll be there or not. Hopefully not. What's up, Toshiro?"

"That's _Hitsugaya-taicho_", he corrected with his usual sternness, so much like Rukia's own. Then softened. "Do not tell anyone else of this, Kurosaki... but in truth, you're one of the only ones here I feel has proven their worth. We're far more alike than I'd care to admit. And I can no longer hold the ties of friendship ruining a carefully-laid strategy over you."

"Hey now.", he reached over to tousle the Shinigami's white hair in comfort, but stopped himself upon remembering how much he hated that. "Don't you be like that. Sojiro Kusaka started the Diamond Dust rebellion, _not_ you. If one of _my_ close friends ever did something like that... well, they wouldn't be very much like the person I became friends with, would they?"

"Let us hope you never face that choice", the captain said gloomily after a moment, remembering his best friend's final, departing words to him.

"I can tell you, it hurts worse than the most grievous of physical wounds. In that too, we are much alike. Both of us have had to deal with a stigma that makes others not take us seriously as Shinigami, no matter how serious _we_ are about it... but compared to the _baka_ cadets, I'd rather have you watching my back any day. You've faced many powerful opponents in just a handful of years. You've beaten most of them, saving Soul Society from several grave threats, even if my superiors have too much political pride to show it. You've proven yourself to be an incredibly tenacious fighter despite lacking even the most basic training a new Shinigami normally receives."

"Thanks, I guess" He scratched at his hair. All this lavish praise from Toshiro was making him a bit uncomfortable, but he knew Rukia would probably tear him back down again when they got back. "What's wrong with _her_, by the way? She's been ever colder than usual toward me."

The youth peered back and shrugged. "This is only a rumour. A Matsumoto rumour."

"So even _less_ likely to be true."

"Yes. But we heard that lady Rukia is... betrothed. An arranged marriage between two noble families."

He blinked repeatedly, not sure how to take this news. Of course it happened, how could it be any different? Like all in the house of Kuchiki, she had responsibilities she couldn't ignore. Even if it went against her true desires. And being adopted, she would have even less say in the matter.

_**Baka**_. _ Just what gave you the impression you ever had a chance to be together with Rukia? Did you think that just because you were friends she'd wait around for you to make up your mind? _Reeve's parting words flashed back to him unbidden, and he must have looked distraught because now Hitsugaya actually sought to comfort _him_, something he'd never done for anyone before. "I understand this is a shock to you. You worked together for a long time in the world of the living before she regained her powers."

"We did", he acknowledged dully. _As if you would ever be able to just come out with it and say it, you impossible fool. Is Pastell right after all? Am I just torturing Tatsuki and Orihime by not making my preference known?_

He laughed softly to himself. _Listen to yourself, idiot_. _You're taking romantic advice from an evil Spirit Eater. He probably hasn't had a date since he became one of them, if then. _Desperate for a change of subject, he turned back to the captain. "By the way, I found out that at least half of the Spirit Eaters are humans who were surgically altered from birth. Reeve was what you'd call a 'street hoodlum'. He lived here in the slums of Naruki city before they converted him on his 17th birthday. Does that... change anything?"

"Hm. Not really", Hitsugaya confessed after a moment. "Though I believe the existing precedents in Soul Society could be much clearer on this point, the fact stands clear that Shinigami _have_ been required to kill modified humans in the distant past to safeguard innocent lives. What is unclear is how 'modified' they have to be to qualify for this provision. Humans being controlled and augmented by a Hollow, for instance, are off-limits."

Thinking back to his first meeting with the Grand Fisher, he shuddered. Far too many Hollows pulled that nasty trick for his liking, controlling humans and using them as shields or puppets. "That's a relief. It's obvious that their leader doesn't really have an effective way of controlling them. Any of them who don't want to fight us will have that choice."

Both returned to the camp with less weight on their shoulders. Seeing Matoba again Ichigo was initially angry, but soon learned the same story he'd told Yoruichi. "I'm only a human, young man", the doctor emphasized. "Well past my prime and a smoker for over half of it. And I know better than anyone else how dangerous they are. I wouldn't have been able to stop that girl's attack. There was no choice."

Ichigo disagreed with him. But he knew by now that Tatsuki's uncle was nothing at all like her. He was cowardly, afraid for his life above all other concerns where she risked it gladly to protect others. "I have a job for you, Arisawa", Toshiro mentioned behind him, taking out a familiar green orb.

"This bit of candy contains what is called a 'mod soul'. When Ichigo transforms into a Shinigami, we're going to put this into his empty human body. We need you to keep an eye on it, make sure it doesn't cause any problems while we're engaged."

Uncertain of the details, the doctor shrugged. "Alright. I'll do what I can. You people truly do have such strange technology."

"We have some very good researchers", Toshiro admitted. "But I should warn you doctor- this one is notoriously troublesome."

_Understatement of the year_, Ichigo couldn't help thinking. He'd much rather be out there fighting Spirit Eaters than have to chase Kon around such tall buildings. He wondered if the doctor could handle it.

"Let us be off", the captain announced, donning his long-sleeved gloves with a small measure of embarrassment. "We've received permit to release our g_entai-kaijou _powerlimiters, those of us who have them_... _Though since we're going underground I hope we don't need them. Everyone not part of this strike force will guard the gate from here. If an attack comes, Captain Komamura is standing by with _his_ squad on the other side of this gate- you will need to contact him and inform him of the situation. Understood?"

There were no objections. Yoruichi, to the surprise of many, was content to follow orders like a low-class cadet, at least for the moment. Neither Renji or Rukia would dispute him either. Each had the protective gloves, and one of Matoba's disk-shaped sensors ready. The captain had apparently already had a private talk with Sado Yasutora about his injuries from the prior battles, as he raised no objection to the fact that he would be remaining here at the gate for the moment.

"Then we ride to war."

* * *

><p>Though even Matoba had not been certain of the exact factory that concealed the hideout, Toshiro did not seem concerned as the strike force made its way unseen to the industrial zone a mere jog north of the <em>Bashi<em> district. "Out here", he mused, "none of these structures are occupied. If we must destroy one to locate the enemy, then we will."

"We'll knock", Yoruichi offered, transforming before and dashing off to look around as an innocuous cat.

At the other end of the formation, Ichigo breathed out in release- in Shinigami form, he barely even felt the drain. Less familiar had been the stares and whispers from the cadets and squad members he hadn't met yet, many of them seeming nervous. _Well I did lead a _Ryoka_ attack into their home. Like Toshiro said, no one expected me to be able to do it... or to master _Bankai_ as fast as I did. _If not exactly a legendary hero, then they at least considered him an oddity, and a warrior not to be messed around with.

They found the entrance on the third try, a vault door and code setup that had no business being in an abandoned factory. Motioning the rest aside, Toshiro made it his duty to destroy it, reaching out with _Hyorinmaru_'s power to completely frost the thing over. The ice screamed and cracked along with the metal and wiring encased within, and within minutes the door was broken into pieces, revealing a poorly-lit stairway leading downward.

And more importantly, the limp figure who had been leaning against it from the other side, who now fell over onto the ground without a word. "Ishida...?"

The Quincy was badly injured, skin dead-gray, barely breathing. Undaunted, one of the female cadets moved in to take the body and remove it from the path. "Narahama will stay here and tend to him", the captain said, nodding to one of the young-looking male cadets. "Shihoin can guard us from the rear. We must continue on."

Nothing he said could stop each of them from lingering a second on their 'not-friend' There didn't seem to be any obvious injuries on Uryu's body, which led Ichigo to suspect a draining. "Hmph. Trying to take on all of them by himself. And he calls _me_ stupid."

"Ishida does what he wants", Rukia said, forgetting for the moment that she was supposed to be mad at him. "The Quincies are also threatened by this group." Reminded of the device Matoba had claimed he'd given to Uryu as well, she held it up close. A cluster of red blips below the central dot on the circular screen. "There. Six signatures directly below us if I'm reading this right."

"Only six?", Renji seemed surprised. "I thought there'd be at least a dozen of them. This is gonna be way too easy."

"Don't be cocky now, Abarai. This is _their_ battleground."

Yet no further signs of opposition came as the group descended into the underground chamber, covered on all sides by crude sheet metal and bracketing. The number of doors instantly reminded Ichigo of their first venture into the gargantuan palace Hueco Mundo, but thankfully Toshiro wouldn't stand to let it divide up their force.

"HEAR ME, Spirit Eaters!", he burst out without warning, shouting loud enough to echo down each hallway as though amplified by some _Kido_ spell. "You have nowhere to run, and you are outnumbered! Return Rutori Igenari, Tatsuki Arisawa, and Orihime Inoue to us immediately, and we will accept your surrender!"

"Why?", the red-haired Shinigami asked once they went a few moments without any response. "They won't go for it."

"We need to give them a chance", Hitsugaya admonished him. "Don't speak unless you have something of value to say, Abarai."

"Fine. Yeesh."

The response was delayed, but unmistakable; the middle door swung open with the customary hiss of hydraulics, and an elderly-looking man with a metal cane and a green dinner jacket walked into the room. Though his snowy white beard and hair made him look like some distant relative of Santa Claus- even more harmless seeming than Matoba Arisawa- the special SE sensors he'd given them marked the old man as a Spirit Eater all the same.

"Greetings, to our Shinigami guests", he said foggily. "Welcome to _Sheol. _I am called Barton Eishinshi. You might call me the caretaker of this underground facility."

Sensing their confusion, he looked closer. Certainly they'd come expecting some kind of hostile response from those that they'd detected, not this. Watching the old man carefully for sudden moves, Toshiro lowered his blade. "And are you going to fight us now, Barton Eishinshi?"

Barton seemed amused by this notion. "Oh, not at all. I abhor violence, believe it or not. In truth, there are quite a number of us down here who lack an _Ianzamento_ that is of any use in combat. We are abandoned by our master, labelled as the _Fallos._ Failures... Thus, I see no conflict of interest in showing you around this place while she is away." He gave them a sly wink then, as if his doing that was a bit of retribution against Zatsua for treating them in such a way. "And before you ask, I've already fed today. On that handsome Igenari lad. I can take you to him if you wish it."

Taken aback, Hitsugaya looked about the room for signs of listening devices or mechanical traps, then coughed into his sleeve in an effort to buy time to whisper to the others. "Follow in pairs, but don't drop your guard." Lowering the sleeve, he brightened and extended one gloved hand. "Of course we would. And your two human prisoners?"

"In good time", Barton promised. "Unlike poor Igenari, they can still move under their own power."

_Alive. _Ichigo felt the relief flood through him. _Alive and well, both of them. Miracle of miracles. _He would find Orihime and get her to safety. Then he would find Tatsuki, and force himself to finally overcome his fear, and apologize to her for everything.

All he had left to do was endure a painstakingly slow tour of the lab. Though far from hostile, Barton was very sluggish in getting down to the next floor of the lab, preferring to explain the purpose of each of the strange machines they passed in the hall at length. At least Rukia tried to _sound_ interested, though he suspected it was more out of politeness than any desire to hear more about this place. "But how did Zatsua create all this? According to Matoba-sensei, the Japanese government severed all ties with this project more than twenty years ago."

Barton beamed with pride. Ichigo could only roll his eyes. "Excellent question little lady. Using our powers as a team, we were able to carve out a huge lot of earth, and using the funds from Zatsua's benefactors, disguise it as another abandoned factory."

"Benefactors?", Rukia repeated back, alarmed at the idea.

"Wealthy humans who were involved in the Spirit Eater project who, like the doctor, didn't want to see it destroyed by internal politics." Striking one of the machines with his cane and creating an echoing ringing, Barton shook his head. "Not just for the Shinigami, mind you- many of them didn't even believe you existed. For military applications. Soldiers and spies with paranormal powers who didn't need to eat normal food. We can count our blessings that Zatsua-sensei kept us focused on our true goal throughout that."

That struck a nerve, and reminded them all that their guide was still _technically_ an enemy, however friendly and helpful he seemed. "Zatsua is paranoid", Hitsugaya tried gently. "Whatever her true reasons for hating the Shinigami so much, I can promise that my people would never act to conquer the world of the living."

"Maybe", Barton acknowledged neutrally. "But what else is there in this world for us?"

To his left, Ichigo had had just about enough of this strange game of follow-and-wait. When they arrived in another chamber full of equipment, he drew closer to the man and put one hand on _Zangetsu_'s hilt. "Time to make your decision then, old man. Do we have to knock you out? Are you our enemy, or our ally?"

"Kurosaki", the captain warned him angrily.

"No, no, the boy is right", Barton mused sadly. "I have kept you all waiting for too long. And Frigeld has no patience for delays."

The movement was so small and insignificant that Ichigo barely caught it down at his feet- just the metal cane, rapping twice on the floor, a vibration.

But it was enough. The entire floor of the room gave way at once, revealing steep pits on every side once the various segments of floor had slid away into darkness. Rocketing back up out of the pit in disdain, he was shocked to see the plates already sliding shut again- only a handful of them had managed to avoid falling into the shafts below.

And he was not one of them. Barely stopping himself from slamming into the metal, he pressed both hands against it and pushed. "No! Damn it!"

Above him, Hitsugaya straightened himself up to see the two cadets who had also managed to avoid the trap and remain in the room... unlike the Spirit Eater who had triggered it. One of them, a brunette who reminded him of Momo, pointed. "...Taicho. We have a guest."

They did. A new Spirit Eater was emerging from a different hydraulic door, far more imposing and already brandishing his weapon- some kind of four-pronged hatchet that looked like a cross when viewed from an angle. A clean, muscular man with gold-toned spikes of hair running along both sides of his head, he wore dignified robes of the same shade of green as Barton's, and the now-familiar tattoo symbol of the Spirit Eaters adorning his left cheek for all the world to see.

"Behold the Shinigami", Frigeld proclaimed, lifting his strange weapon with one arm and giving it a few practice swings that did nothing to alleviate Toshiro's sense of dread; he could sense the thing's weight from this distance. "Fell beings who arrogantly proclaim themselves to be the Gods of Death. Who shall now_ meet_ that Death, and the judgement of the God whom they impersonate. Hallelujah!"

* * *

><p>Rukia tumbled downward for many meters before getting it under control, and quickly scolded herself for falling for such a simple trap. In the utter darkness of the shaft, the only way remaining to her was down towards the bronze-colored lights lining it.<p>

Baka_. Not the only one though. _She wasn't entirely surprised to see that Ichigo Kurosaki had also been cast into the same shaft with her, descending to the bottom at around the same rate as each light briefly illuminated his face, and hers for him.

For the hundredth time she found herself asking why she'd volunteered for this mission. Surely there were other Shinigami in squads who could have taken the job, others who weren't involved in wedding preparations.

Others who _didn't_ know Kurosaki Ichigo, who couldn't help feeling horribly guilty every time they made eye contact with each other. Instead, she focused on their surroundings once they hit the bottom. An entirely dark area meant to disorient them, but their enhanced senses- and rhe SE sensor device- still pointed to a path forward.

Taking only a moment to ensure there wasn't another enemy lying in wait, she raised both hands. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado Number 31, _Shakkako_!"

She could sense her comrade- _not partner, not partner, not partner- _ducking away, but in this case the sphere of red light she'd conjured did not fly out and blow up something ahead of her, but floated on her palm, illuminating the way forward in a red haze.

"Nice", Ichigo complimented her. "Not just a spell of destruction like the others think."

"It won't work", she replied, forcing herself into the same ice-cold demeanour as before. "I know very well you wouldn't be praising me if you weren't trying to get on my good side. So don't, Ichigo... Please don't."

That seemed to depress him further. He didn't protest as they made their way down the darkened hall. There were no more bronze lights here- without the _Shakkako_ it would have been impossible to see. "Can't feel anything", he noted. "This is just a dead end to stall us. I say we start tearing down walls."

"_Baka_. This is at least three floors underground; if we do that, the place might cave in."

Exasperated, he stopped walking. "Well what do you suggest then? Just keep walking around until we find something? They dumped us down here to get us out of the way, there's nothing here!"

"Shut up. I'm thinking." Against a normal enemy it would have been easy to track down the closest source of spiritual energy and go from there. But there was nothing. Only the power of their friends, and those were distant. "If I use _Kakushitsuijaku_, then maybe...?"

She looked down at the SE Sensor and stopped breathing. "Never mind. We have four incoming."

"Where?"

Studying the walls, she saw no sign yet. Only the four dots on the sensor which were rapidly converging on them. "Wait. Six dots. Seven. Nine...!"

Her friend drew his blade, locked in covering her back while she prepared her own. The beautiful _Zanpaktou_'s white shimmer was nearly enough to pierce the gloom, but not enough to reveal their attackers. _Is this it? If these are all as strong as that one Renji and Toshiro fought, then it is already.. no. There is always a chance. _She had taught her 'substitute' soul reaper many things, but that was something he had taught her.

"Ichigo... I...!"

"Yeah. Me too."

"That won't be necessary", a new voice jarred them from the dark. The figure switched on a small electric lantern, revealing a sickly woman in a jacket similar to Barton's. In this light, her long hair's colour was impossible to place, but it looked bright. Behind her were five more in similar garb, similarly unhealthy-looking.

As if already sensing her own mistrust, Ichigo raised _Zangetsu_. "We had a Spirit Eater for a guide not too long ago, and he led us into a trap."

"Barton-sama is only following Frigeld's orders", the woman said simply. "He has been the representative for us, the _Fallos_."

"What about you?", Rukia leaned over, searching on instinct and finding another one in a corridor to the left before he ran off on sight. Even with the lamp and her _Shakkako_ the place was giving off a real haunted house vibe. The group did not look threatening, merely curious. "What's your name?"

The woman looked as though Rukia had slapped her. "I do not have one. I am _Fallos_, I do not deserve a name. None of us deserved that honour."

"I see", Ichigo observed. The true nature of this place was finally sinking into him. It wasn't a trap for Shinigami, but a sort of necropolis for the Spirit Eaters that Zatsua had rejected for her campaign against Soul Society. A darkened maze of twisting corridors where the damned lived. He had almost never seen a more defeated-looking person, and all the others there seemed to share her outlook and clothes. _Like a broken-down slum. The very lowest-level of a major city, shrouded in perpetual darkness. These poor people have known nothing but abuse from their peers and creator- they've given up on life completely. _"Eishinshi did?"

She chuckled throatily. " Barton-sama... he is no _Fallos_. He _chose_ to defend us, our right to live. He defends this place from those who would destroy it."

_So maybe he is the good guy he claimed to be. _"I hate to be the one to mention this", she noted, "but your 'honourable' master is probably off fighting our friends as we speak."

"Unlikely. Barton-sama hates violence."

Exactly what Eishinshi had told them, before leading them into an ambush. _Like Shunsui-taicho then_, she reasoned, not wanting to believe the old man was that deceptive. _A slacker who only fights when his higher-ups order him to. _Hopefully Eishinshi wouldn't turn out to be like Shunsui in _other_ ways too, but for now his spiritual powers were none of their concern.

What should be their concern was the three captives, but Rukia felt not even the slightest trace of Rutori Igenari's energy. Either he'd been moved out of the lab, or...

"How do we get out?", she asked the woman suddenly as they walked. "We'll free all of you from the under-levels as well of course, but right now we have to get back to the upper levels and find our friends."

"Get out?" The pale woman sounded puzzled by the concept. "No one ever gets out."

"We have to", Ichigo said impatiently. "There are people counting on us."

"No one gets out without the guardian's permission", the man beside her maintained. "That is the rule."

Rukia sighed. Then nearly laughed to herself despite the gloom and jerked an accusing thumb at Ichigo. "A funny thing about this idiot of a substitute Shinigami... he's never exactly been big on rules. For that matter, neither have I. So. Let's go meet that guardian of yours, and we can 'discuss' our terms with him."

Ichigo was amused by her performance too. For one glorious moment it felt like they were the old team once again, which had taken down Hollow after Hollow in Karakura town even as they squabbled like only they could.

It would certainly be a team unlike anything the 'guardian' had dealt with before.

* * *

><p>"We are the Shinigami. Soul reapers.", Hitsugaya replied to the tall Spirit Eater's threat. <em>Hyorinmaru <em>was itching to go. "Death is an old friend to us, and we know when it will come. It isn't today."

Frigeld seemed remarkably unconcerned. He seemed to recognize Hitsugaya as the captain and the leader of the strike force, but he paid him no further mind, speaking instead to all three of his opponents. "No man or beast can tell when their time is come", he claimed. "Shinigami are no exception."

Then the four-pronged axe became a blur, lunging for the closest target. _Hyorinmaru_ raised a dozen ice spikes to repel it, and in moments the two cadets had regained their wits as well and drawn their swords for a two-sided attack.

_Too easy_, was all Hitsugaya could think as the three of them pressed the big man back towards a wall. _This one is supposed to be the big enforcer, yet Hyn was far more deadly than him._

For the second time that day, the surprise attack came too fast to stop despite his suspicions- Frigeld seemed to throw his weapon against a cadet's _Zan _before thrusting the other hand forward and releasing a series of sparkling drops through the air.

With one touch, the attacking Shinigami stopped moving, quickly encased in what looked to the captain like a massive diamond shape. _Like ice. _Before realizing what was happening, Momo's doppelganger was caught as well. Hitsugaya flash-stepped around madly but the drops were everywhere now, and after several moments of tense evasion he felt one stinging the back of his neck... right before absolute numbness overtook him as well.

"You are all dead", Frigeld declared ruthlessly towards his three paralysed victims. "Life itself means nothing inside of those diamonds; that is half of my _Ianzamento, _the_ '_Eternal Radiance'_."_

Hitsugaya could not be sure where exactly he had regained himself. There had only been the sensation of being held, forever bound in a cocoon colder than the bleakest polar ice cap, and the animal instincts to fight free of the suffocation before all his senses closed down. Then, after a millenia of numb isolation, there had been a shattering noise, a burning sensation of returning feeling in his limbs. Pushing free at last, he glared at the Spirit Eater with all the menace he could muster.

"You used your immense _reiatsu _to break free of it", Frigeld observed detatchedly. "Which means that out of the three, you get to suffer."

"Thtoppp", Hitsugaya slurred through thick lips that were yet too numb to move well, and arms and legs that yet bore the weight of diamonds. "Thtoppp! NO!"

But the enemy would not listen. Or, perhaps, he had simply waited for Hitsugaya to grasp what was to happen, moments before his fears would be realized in full ghoulish detail.

The hatchet fell twice.

A terrible shattering sound filled the room.

And the two huge diamonds broke into tens of thousands of shards. Along with the two Shinigami contained within them. "NOOOO!"

Again he lost track of himself, this time given over to a hot wrath instead of numb oblivion. But the Spirit Eater matched every blow with infuriating calm before sweeping to drive the captain back.

"BASTARD! How could you?", he screamed raggedly. "They were no threat to you at all!"

Instead of resuming the attack, Frigeld answered with a reptilian look worthy of Hitsugaya's own darkest ire. "No soul reaper is ever harmless. Even the weakest of your number are strong enough to kill a human with but a single finger. That is the truth, and you know it."

Regaining his wits, he released _Hyorinmaru_ and waited for the wings of ice to build themselves upon his shoulders. For the man had spoken true this time, no matter how angry he was at seeing two of his charges shattered beyond any possible recovery.

"Then, there's _you_. You look to be one of the 13 captains of the elite court guard squads. One of the 13 strongest Shinigami in all existence, despite having the physical body of a child. You have sufficient power with your _Bankai_ to freeze an entire city to the bone if you wished to. No human army could ever oppose you."

In no mood for any more lecturing from a murderer, he thrust his _Zanpaktou_ forward, releasing a torrent of blue ice spikes along the ground. Powerful, but easily dodged in this case. "Long-lived or not, mortal beings should not possess such power. It imbalances the world. It is an insult to God."

More of the sparkling droplets flew, but this time Hitsugaya was better prepared for their slow drift around the room. Carefully flying through the cloud, his next strike impacted on Frigeld's hatchet, encasing it in ice until he found the time to shake it off.

"You still entertain the belief that you can win", the Spirit Eater observed. "Such a cruel hope, like the kind Orihime Inoue gives to her victims."

"This isn't something Zatsua programmed into you", Toshiro commented with no small degree of amazement. None of the others had been so talkative, or so self-righteous. "You really, honestly, believe every word you just said?"

Frigeld did not reply at first. Instead he raised both arms, letting the hundreds of drifting droplets cover his body as though it had become a magnet to them. It built and built in intensity, becoming a blinding flash of white.

When it cleared, Hitsugaya stared in amazement at the full suit of armour encasing the Spirit Eater's body, a curving guard before his face and neck that allowed him to breathe. Like the prisons, it looked to be composed entirely of glittering diamonds. _Unlike_ them, it allowed full movement of arms and legs, as its wearer was quick to demonstrate.

"Hope and despair, they mingle together into a perfect song", Frigeld announced bleakly with the coming of the second half of his _Ianzamento. "_They take root deep within our hearts, and push us to commit to unspeakable acts all in the name of faith and what we believe is _right_... That is what we humans call 'Belief'. This diamond armour reflects the absolute strength of my belief... and the strength of my belief will destroy you, Shinigami! Hallelujah!"

* * *

><p>AN: Nothing to improve eh, metsfan? Thanks. This one certainly went through enough revision. In particular, I am hoping the big boss Frigeld comes across more serious than a mere stereotypical religious fanatic here, even though Bleach hasn't really had such a character before unless you count Barragan's worship of himself. Like Hachi mentions in that fight, the very existence of Shinigami and Hollows calls into question any number of faiths, and it isn't much of a spoiler to say that's a big part of Frigeld's motivation.<p> 


	9. Part 9: Counterattack

_Disc: I don't own Bleach._

* * *

><p><em>Part 9: Counterattack<em>

* * *

><p>The palace had been completely restored. Tall and regal like those of the four noble families, it rose from the <em>Seritei<em> as a testament of the Soul Society's undying strength and will atop a white marble edifice that could be seen for miles.

Head Captain Genryusei Yamamoto could be content in knowing that this towering icon of Shinigami power would not fail in his lifetime. It was to him what he was to the terribly short-lived mortal humans; an existence so wide and far-reaching it was beyond comprehension. Though it would not be appropriate to give more than a token thanks, he knew this was owed to the hundreds of dedicated Shinigami workers who had rebuilt the palace through any number of dire threats.

This past decade had seen more such attacks than any other period of his reign as head captain. A troubling phenomenon to be sure, but so long as everyone did their part his faith in Soul Society's continued future could be equally strong.

They were before him now, six more reminders of all he had accomplished in his time. When the report had come in, a meeting was in order, and each captain not currently on duty had responded quickly, digesting the information in Toshiro Hitsugaya's reports in dignified silence along the room.

"The attack has already begun", he informed them stonily. "Captain Komamura has gone to reinforce the Naruki gate, to ensure none of the enemy can attempt to sneak in through it while our warriors in the world of the living are occupied."

"'Shiro-chan's biggest mission ever", a long white-haired captain to his immediate left noted with a kind smile. "He must be so nervous."

"He knows the stakes, and his responsibilities as a captain", another on the right side commented, a stoic nobleman in a _hakama_ with black hair, head of the Kuchiki clan. "To interfere now would cast unforgivable aspersions on our faith in him, a great insult."

"Hey", another captain on the right side shifted about, this one with a pink kimono and a large straw hat concealing a mound of chocolate brown hair. "I heard that Rukia joined that attack force, right? Don't tell me you're not worried about her."

The previous captain shrugged. "It was her bequest. She may have seen it as an opportunity to give her friend Ichigo Kurosaki one final farewell before the wedding."

"Ah... I think we're all a bit partial when it comes to _that_ boy", a woman on the left with a grandmotherly appearance and knotted coal hair spoke up with a smile, her hands clasped. "He deserves credit where due. And now he's even joined Hitsugaya-taicho's group."

"Heheheh." The largest of the captains present, an eyepatched with dozens of visible scars and bells adorning wild spikes of black hair, gave them a crazed smile upon hearing that particular name. "I'd say more like he's looking to go fight a strong... whad'ya call em? Spirit Snatchers?'

"Spirit Eaters, Zaraki", Yamamoto corrected him sharply, catching the eye of each of the gathering in turn. "And though their souls may once have been human, the same could be said for most if not all Hollows. We can show them no mercy should the battle come to us."

Now captain Ukitake mulled that over to his left, perhaps thrown by how quickly his mentor had given the death sentence to so many living beings. "I'd prefer if it didn't come to that at all, Yamamoto-taicho. We all know the likely result if these creatures should find their way to our dimension here, and we're still rebuilding after the incident with the renegade _Zanpaktou_."

Genryusei nodded slowly. For that particular incident, he had gone so far as to isolate himself- and his own terribly powerful _Zanpaktou-_ away from the one who had sought to control it. "Agreed. Considering their various abilities mentioned in the report, we cannot be lenient with our powers, hence why only one of us was assigned to this task. From the reports, I am led to believe the enemy will not have nearly the numbers of the Arrancars. A small relief."

"We should not be cowering here then", Byakukya Kuchiki pointed out irritably. "If this enemy is so dangerous, we should not leave the first attack in the hands of amateurs."

There was an intake of breath all along the chamber, each one knowing the real one the 6th squad captain considered to be the 'amateur' of the strike force. "To the contrary, Kuchiki-taicho", Yamamoto replied. "That is why we _are_ all assembled here. Remember that the enemy has already captured one of our own. More, we know now they have the ability to absorb a person`s memories along with their _reiatsu_. It is impossible to be certain if they've learned from Igenari some means of travelling to the S_eritei_ unnoticed."

"The lieutenants", Ukitake guessed suddenly. "_That's_ why they're not here. You sent them to check the farthest gates of our realm." As impressive an array of warriors they were, in truth the 13 court guard squads were still catching up from attrition with the unexpected defection of three of their most respected captains. Thus the lieutenants of each beheaded squad had been forced to step into temporary command until suitable replacements could be found... and it seemed as though they would be a long time coming.

Promoting these three lieutenants to full-time was not out of the question... but it was a long-standing tradition not to give such an honour to one who had not yet achieved _Bankai_. "Indeed. If word comes in that the enemy has breached the barrier between our worlds, then we are ready to respond with full haste. We serve better here- unchecked, our powers would wreak terrible destruction on Naruki City if several of us went and fought."

"Taicho", Unohana asked politely after a moment. "What about that human they say leads them, Jutani Zatsua?"

This, Yamamoto had deliberated over far more than the fate of the woman's creations. Fishing out the picture the 2nd squad had arranged to be delivered to him, he flung the scrap out onto the mat that divided the assembly of squad captains.

Seeing hazel eyes, curly brown hair and mirrored spectacles, Shunsui boggled. "Huh. So that's what she looks like? Yeesh... since when did Sosuke Aizen get a gender reassignment?"

None of the others laughed at the joke about the physical similarity. For them, the lingering memory of the traitor captain- how he'd played them all like fools, how he'd bested them one by one- was a sore spot no matter how they chose to look at it.

"Fortunately", Yamamoto continued, "miss Zatsua is in fact wanted by the human authorities in the world of the living for various crimes. And she has not found any way to enhance her own spiritual power beyond that of a normal human. When the chance arises, it will not be difficult to turn her over to them without harming her."

"She tortured our people", the last of the gathering spoke out at last, bitter and condemning of their prey. "She took humans, severed them from the society they knew, and granted them powers far beyond anything they can be trusted with. Do we_ really_ just let her go after all that?"

The head captain's aged eyes shimmered in bemusement. Apparently,the elder Kuchiki was not the only one misappropriating their anger onto someone else. "Zatsua is not a Hollow, Soifon. Not a traitorous Shinigami. She is merely a human, one of the souls we are sworn to protect. _Not_ to terminate, no matter how despicable the soul. We must wait for death to claim them before performing such a judgement."

"I hear ya", Zaraki joked towards the rear of the formation, lost in his memory of a long-ago battle. "Remember when we had to deal with that crazy _Menos _in Germany some years back? The guy actually shot himself in the head before his soul Hollowfied! What a day that was. Fun though."

"But we know the human has secret allies among the Naruki city authorities", Ukitake pointed out. "What if they help her to escape judgement? What if she starts this madness all over again?"

Yamamoto felt they were getting ahead of themselves here, but then that seemed to be the new trend with today's youth, always rushing forward to the worst possible conclusion... "If that appears to be the case, I might consent to submit her to the judgement of Central 46." The punishments handed down by Soul Society's governing body were meant for dissident Shinigami, likely too harsh for any human to endure for long.

Most of them hoped it wouldn't come to that. "Its a shame", the straw-hatted Kyoraku Shunsui observed, looking closer at the picture. "She's really kind of pretty, for a human."

"For someone who has made it their life's objective to destroy us, you mean", Soifon pointed out furiously.

"Speaking of", Ukitake cut in, anxious to defuse the flaring tempers, "`any word from your people on a motive, Soifon?"

"Some", the head assassin admitted, calmed down a notch. "Both parents and a younger brother dead, all three of them judged as 'Plus' souls... by... by Yoruichi-sama. Twenty years ago, when she was still one of us."

"All three dead at the same time? An accident?"

She waved the sheaf of paper absently. "That's what the report says. There was a car crash. Young Jutani was injured, unconscious when the _konso_ was performed on her family's souls."

"Such a sad tale", Yamamoto observed stoically. "One all too common in those large cities humans like to build these days." Seeing the wavering on several of their faces, the head captain stood tall, striking the floor once with his staff to draw their attention back. "But regardless of the reason, she is now an enemy like any other. Rally your squads now, and move them out of the _Rukongai_ to the coordinates you have been given."

He had to be firm and unyielding in judgement. He was still the pillar that held this world up. It would not fall on his watch. Never.

* * *

><p>Orihime had actually been having a nice dream about donuts when a crashing noise followed by a shriek woke her. Adre Gryuryana stood on the other side, her expression dark and frightened. "We need to go", she said. "Now."<p>

Wits not quite recovered yet, she blinked in confusion. "Adre-sama?"

It wasn't until she had hastily donned her dress gown and stepped out into Adre's quarters that the complete gravity of the situation made itself known.

There was a body on the carpet, an overly obese Spirit Eater in forest green tunics she'd seen a few times. Dead without question- there had to be a dozen slash marks along his huge body, one of them going directly through his right eye socket. It reminded her of Squad 11's scary captain Kenpachi Zaraki, but unlike that crazy man these wounds were most certainly fatal, blood seeping out onto the floor even as she watched.

"W-what happened?"

"Ponna was going to take me away", Adre whispered, unable to take her eyes off the corpse. "He was going to kill you. I didn't want that. Sir Aurius and Sir Pendragon fought him... and then..."

Orihime stared back at her host, stunned at the implications. "You did that for me?"

The girl was on the verge of tears. "Hime-chan... You're my only friend. I don't care if you're Shinigami, I _won't_ let them take you from me."

Again the bizarre urge came, to comfort Adre in these moments no matter how they stood with each other. "There there." She stroked her hair, drawing close. "Your knights did what they thought was best for you. They must have known how much I meant to you."

While the princess buried herself in Orihime's shoulder and began to cry, the older girl looked around the room for other signs of intrusion. The fight had shook things up a little, but the simple fact that they'd sent someone to fetch Adre and kill their prisoners was much more telling.

It meant that Ichigo Kurosaki was coming for her. Or at least, his friends in Soul Society.

Which also meant that the other prisoners were in the same danger. "Easy now, Adre-sama. I'm here for you. But we have to get out of here before more of them come. Can you fly?"

Timidly, she nodded. Orihime suspected the fight hadn't been an exhausting one for the princess and her invisible 'knights'. More likely it was simple terror at what she'd done holding her back. She pressed her lips into a firm line, knowing what had to be done. "I'm going to go save the other Shinigami now. Would you like to come with me?"

Adre sobbed, but there was no answer forthcoming. There was no need. "Then let's go."

* * *

><p>There were a dozen of them all told, most of them clad in threadbare gray tunics nearly useless for holding back the cold of the under-levels. Not one of the <em>Fallos<em> appeared openly hostile, only frightened of their new guests.

"Zatsua will pay for this", Ichigo promised, though quiet enough that only Rukia heard him. "She abducted these people and just left them to rot when they weren't good fighters."

"Human depravity", Rukia noted, uncharacteristically somber as they passed a man trying in vain to make his light-bending powers work. Even in the back alleys of the _Rukongai_ she had not seen such pitiful creatures. "Nii-san_ did_ warn me I hadn't seen anything yet."

Ichigo fell silent. He'd never heard tales of a Shinigami rejecting their task of moderating good and evil souls in disgust for their wards, and none of his friends had even hinted at such a feeling... but hearing Rukia Kuchiki talk like that wasn't comfortable. At all. "_One_ depraved human woman's actions", he murmured.

She gave him a worn smile. "I know. We can never judge based on the actions of one fanatic. And you _have_ gotten better in the past few centuries... mostly." Looking around the lit area they'd now been brought to, she followed the string of bronze lights to a new passage. "This looks like the way out."

He followed her gaze. The hallway led to a staircase leading up, broken up only by a single large machine halfway along. "The guardian", one of the _Fallos_ warned, the woman from before rushing to catch up with them. "None pass without his permission, and you're intruders."

"We didn't come here expecting a peaceful resolution", Rukia replied smoothly, eyeing the machine with interest. It didn't look at all like a war machine. More like a giant diving helmet, metal plates jutting out at the front with only a head-sized bulb of glass at the top.

"This is the part where it grows limbs, stands up and threatens us with termination in a robot voice", Ichigo joked. "What's the plan?"

Kurosaki Ichigo, asking _her_ for an order? It had to be him trying to be nice to her again. "Enough. We stay together, take the thing down from both sides if it attacks."

"Got it." Dismissing their hosts despite their insistence, they advanced into the dark, each with one eye on the machine. Even in the low light, the glass bulb flickered with their reflected faces as they passed, somehow shining with-

He skidded to a stop. "Not a machine. Take a look."

Rukia gasped. There was a_ person_ in there. A dark-skinned man suspended by limp arms on the metal brackets inside, in a deep slumber. In this light it was hard to tell, but the chamber might have been filled with liquid from the way the man's scraggly hair was floating. "One of the rooms Barton showed us", she remembered out loud. "Sleep chambers. Only this one's being used."

"Then let him snooze", Ichigo dismissed it. "We're not in the habit of killing defenceless prisoners."

"You're right." Still, her gaze lingered on the dormant figure. He looked so peaceful, just floating there amid the machinery. It had been a long time since she'd had such a good long sleep. Constantly staying on alert for attacks wearied one, and-

She stopped, stepped back from the machine in alarm. No. This was wrong. By no means should she be feeling _this_ tired before even beginning to fight. "Ichigo!"

He was feeling it too, she saw. The teen's eyelids had grown droopy, his expression slack. His sword looked like it was suddenly ten times the weight "I can't... so... tired..."

Rage at her idiocy only held off the tide for so long. She yawned against her will, and every movement felt like fighting against the setting of the sun. Like Urahara's paralysis spell, by the time they felt its effects it was already too late to get away. _A sleep spell. Something passive, something this one can generate without even needing to be awake...!_

"No... We have to fight... have to... can`t..."

He toppled like a tree. Rukia lasted only a little longer, just enough to see the guardian's eyes flicker open angrily before passing out in the other Shinigami's arms.

* * *

><p>``Gentai-Kaijou... <em>release<em>.``

Hitsugaya welcomed the interruption that crashed into the square room he'd been duelling the Spirit Eater Frigeld in. After this many exchanges, his hands and legs were raw with the effort of staying ahead of him and the shining droplets, to say nothing of his massive 'cross-hatchet' weapon. _ Or_ the pang of guilt he felt whenever he would accidentally tread on a piece of shattered diamond.

"Sorry I'm late", Yoruichi Shihon remarked innocently after drop-kicking the man into a wall. "I ran into one of their grunts wandering around, had to take care of him before I learned where you were." Surveying the wreckage without judgement, she stopped her eyes on the diamond-encased enemy before them. "This guy's the big enforcer? Heh. He's kind of cute."

"He's killed two of my squad", Hitsugaya growled in denial. "He's also totally insane."

"Another Shinigami. Another one come to die! HALLELUJAH!"

Having had his point proven, the captain veered away from the attack on wings of ice, satisfied to see the former assassin backflip away from it as well. "Don't let those floating sparkles touch you either!"

But his words were wasted- not one drop came close to touching as the woman dodged around with an acrobat's grace, using _Shunpo_ whenever they backed her into a corner to simply _be somewhere else_ in the blink of an eye.

Which only left them the matter of figuring out how to effectively damage their opponent. He'd tried the ice spikes earlier to no effect, and now a shower of knives flew from Yoruichi's outstretched arms to bounce harmlessly off diamond armour. Watching closely, he could make out how the transparent face guard graduated into a sleek collar wrapped securely around the man's head. _Still, the fact that he left an air hole means he could suffocate the same way we were when he encased us in diamonds._

_A trap, then. _"Shihoin! Can you keep him busy for a few seconds?"

She looked insulted. "I could dodge this guy all day, Taicho- he's as slow as an ox." Turning back to the matter at hand, she fired off another salvo of knives before bursting into close combat, only stopping the barrage of expert kicks and punches long enough to dodge each hatchet strike and sparkles.

If anyone could have broken through that armour barehanded it would have been Yoruichi and indeed there were a number of hopeful _clangs_... but no cracks. Fortunately, that wasn't the real plan. Taking a moment to ensure the air around him was clear of droplets, Hitsugaya shifted around behind the Spirit Eater before focusing _Hyorinmaru. _"Dragon Flower- _Ryusenka!_"

It didn't look too much different, he understood. With the elemental alignment of his _Zanpaktou_, a reflection of his own personality, all the various ice attacks he used tended to achieve the same general effect. But this was something he could also turn to his advantage- none would know what he truly intended until it was too late.

The ice now covered Frigeld from head to toe, as transparent as the diamonds but a different enough shade that they could be told apart. For ten seconds the enemy did not move an inch.

Then the front end breached, a spiderweb of cracks spreading out from the spot until the entire thing shattered, ice now mingling among the broken diamonds and broken Shinigami...

"Diamonds may well appear to be kin to ice", Frigeld announced once he'd stepped free of the remains of his prison. "But in truth, they are opposite sides of the spectrum; diamonds are pressurized coals, not frozen moisture. They last forever, while ice, as you can see, is terribly fragile. They are not naturally cold, and thus can insulate one against the elements."

"Oh look, a diamond expert", Yoruichi remarked dryly from her safe spot. "What were you before anyway? A coal miner or something? That would explain the axe."

"Wrong, Shinigami witch", the man smirked in reminiscence. "But my old life before I awoke_ did_ involve a good number of diamonds." While speaking, he'd brought his weapon up into a circular rotation. When finished, that rotation had reached high enough speeds to pull the remaining sparkles into orbit around him by some process Hitsugaya didn't understand.

"Jeweller, then", Yoruichi guessed playfully. "I bet the ladies in the world of the living _loved_ seeing you."

This time, the Spirit Eater did not reply to the goading. He simply thrust the axe forward, launching the drops in a rapid stream. Dodging around them, he found himself embarrassed by how easy the former assassin made it look; doubly so when another caught him in the right ankle, encasing him in another huge diamond immediately. Painful freedom was required and again achieved, but he wasn`t sure if he could do it a third time. "Sorry I couldn`t punch through it", the former assassin remarked once he could catch his breath. "Hm... just like that armour he`s got."

"He said the armour would endure with his belief", Hitsugaya managed to choke out. "Don't say that we have to talk him into defeat."

She shrugged casually. "Nah, that's not really my style either. What could we possibly say to him to make him change his mind?"

" 'You're an insane fanatic who is trying to destroy something you don't even understand' ", he tried after a moment of thought. It sounded weak even to him, and then they had to dodge again for several moments.

She winked. "See? I knew you could do it, 'Shiro-chan. But seeing as how you're right, I doubt anything we say is going to sway him- _RAIOKEN_!"

Turning just in time, she faced the charging Frigeld with the strongest punch yet, a clap of thunder that shook the entire room and knocked the enemy back several paces... but still he did not fall! "Protection against that too", she groaned, jump-kicking him back even further. "_Hakuda_ won't work either, I'd guess. You're no fun at all, big guy."

For one shameful moment, Toshiro was glad there were no other Shinigami around to watch- he'd burned through so much energy already, and now was being forced to leave the majority of the fight to an _exile_. An exile with incredible hand-to-hand skills and possibly the fastest _Shunpo_ in history, but still a rogue who should not have been his equal, never mind superior. _Small wonder Soifon finds her so infuriating... If that is the right word for it._

Gradually he focused his efforts into analysis instead of dwelling on hurt pride or his colleagues, closely watched the way each kick and punch slid off the diamond armour like rain, and the grace with which each axe swing and sparkling droplet was dodged. It was a stalemate, Frigeld's shouts of anger the only sign that she was making any progress at all.

His mind made up, he glanced at each wall in turn. Each showed various levels of damage, and- far more alarming- a number of patches encased in diamonds. _Damn. _ _The droplets... If this keeps up, he can cover the entire room, and I don't know how well Shihoin's legs would deal with a zero-friction floor._

Or worse, a floor that 'diamondized' any who touched it. Frigeld, he noticed now, was insulated from any such effects with the way his _Ianzamento_ already covered his legs.

_Best not to find out. _"Hado Number 32, _Okasen_!"

The blast of yellow flame was not aimed at the Spirit Eater, but at the wall with the most structural damage, caving it in easily. Neither of the others were distracted enough by that to let a hit through, but after several repetitions Hitsugaya motioned to Yoruichi, hoping she would catch on.

"Come on, big guy", she taunted, blowing Frigeld a kiss after zipping to the entrance of the new tunnel the captain had blasted. "Let's take this somewhere a bit less cramped, eh?"

The roar that answered her left no doubt that he would follow behind.

* * *

><p>o<p> 


	10. Part 10: Another World

WARNING: This chapter contains description of an extremely violent and brutal fight scene that may push it into M-Rated depending on how you feel about it, though nothing beyond the series' standards.

* * *

><p><em>Part 10: Another World<em>

* * *

><p>Orihime felt her heart sink as she and Adre ran into the same cell that Frigeld had brought her to before- the young Shinigami within was not moving at all.<p>

"Still breathing", she noted in relief once she'd forced the 'cage' open with the ray of light called _Koten Zanshun_. Returning the tiny spirit to its default state of a simple-looking hair decoration on her head, she turned. "Can you lift him, Adre-sama?"

The girl gave her a strange look, prompting her to correct herself. "Um, sorry... Can sir Pendragon carry him for us?"

Adre looked worried. What she'd done wouldn't undo years of being told that the Shinigami were the enemy. "Why? Where are we going, Hime?"

Time to be diplomatic. She knelt down so they were face to face. "Out of this place. It's too dangerous here, so we can go into the city above, Adre-sama."

"Where we can find the queen?"

"Yes." Inoue hated lying to someone so young and frightened, but it couldn't be helped. "If you want, you can go find your mother again after we get out of here."

"You'll come with me", the princess demanded, some of her old fire back in her as she gripped Orihime's shoulders tight. "Won't you?"

The crash interrupted her attempts to formulate a response that wouldn't anger her; a metal wall exploding out of its housing in tune with the latest tremor shaking the lab. Both looked outside the cell area to see a hulking figure lying in the corridor, contrails of thick smoke still coming off his huge body. Orihime recognized the giant as the one who had broken into Matoba's home and attacked them- he wasn`t a hard one to forget.

The figure coming through the improvised tunnel after him was familiar too. Renji Abarai leaped out into the room, followed by three Shinigami cadets she didn't know. "Hey, Inoue!", he called with a fierce smile. "Good to see ya safe!"

Relief at last. But looking back at the princess, she knew this wouldn't be over so easily. "I'm fine, Renji-kun. Adre here protected me."

He looked surprised of course. "Oh. Really? Guess Ichigo was right- these guys really _aren't_ too well organized. I'll be with ya in just a second, we just need to take this slug down."

But even though his body was too large to be damaged by such a thing for long, Nogrand Juno looked withdrawn as he stood again, facing the three Shinigami with those horribly dull eyes. "Four Shinigami detected. Calculated chance of objective success now 30%. Objective: retreat."

"Can't put anything past you, can we?", Renji joked at the simple analysis. "Just what makes ya think we'll let you leave so easily?"

Buffeted by another tremor, Nogrand narrowed those weirdly tiny eyes, took one step back towards Orihime. Only one. "Spirit Eater identified as Adre Gryuryana, this one requests maximum support. Calculated chance of primary objective success together rises to 80%."

Orihime watched the princess carefully, wanting nothing more than to run back into the cell area until the fighting was over. "Adre-sama, please... You don't have to fight if you don't want to."

"I... I... no!"

All at once, they were back where they had started, Adre brushing away tears of sorrow to fix her with the same imposing glare. Despite her youth and size, when she was this angry Orihime couldn't help but be scared. "No. Hime-chan is _mine_", the princess emphasized in fury, rising up in the air before them as if bolstered by an invisible platform. "Mine!

The swords fell, invisible and silent. But whatever had led Adre to believe that she had three knights at her service which only she could see, their effects could still be felt- one cadet fell back with a free-flowing gash cut into his arm, another able to block the invisible blade before dodging back to cast some Kido spell. The third attacked Nogrand, cutting his sleeve but not yet making him bleed... and the room erupted into complete chaos

"No one is taking her away from me! NO ONE!"

* * *

><p>Ichigo Kurosaki had not expected to find himself back in a classroom. Certainly it was familiar territory, his home room at school the same as any other... but he couldn't shake the niggling feeling that he should have been somewhere else at the moment.<p>

The bell roused him from whatever delusions might have held him and he looked up, casting eyes over the rare sight of a full attendance shuffling into the room. Orihime was there, as was Sado. He almost hadn't noticed small Mizuiro Kojima seated behind him quietly writing something, or strawberry-haired Chizuru Honsho who looked like she was working up the courage to seat directly next to Orihime like she always wanted to.

Looking on the other side, he boggled to see Rukia next to him, in the same...?

_Why? Was she supposed to be wearing something different? _She'd always worn that gray skirt at school, and she'd been around long enough that it shouldn't have thrown him. He'd been staring, because she glanced back in concern. "What's wrong, Kaien? Do I have something on my face?"

"N-no... Just... Never mind."

She gave a laugh, friendlier than usual. "Head in the clouds as usual, I see. Sometimes I wonder how you got to be a top-ranked student even in this dump. Of course, that can change."

It sounded like a challenge. "Hey, you're not so bad yourself for someone who got here what, two years ago?"

"Rukia-chan has to", one of the students he didn't know called. "We all have to be star performers to make up for Asano and Kojima."

He flinched. That didn't sound right, somehow. Kojima was always soft-spoken and polite, and a good student besides. Wasn't he? And as for Keigo...

"Speak of the devil", the student continued smugly as the other one he'd slammed dashed through the door, arms flailing. "A new record, Mr. Asano. Only fifteen minutes late. It's enough to make people think you _want_ to be here."

Light brown-haired Keigo Asano, while normally a whirlwind of energy, was now practically hyperventilating from the strain, only able to talk in short whispers. "Emergency... had to get... my sister's cat... tree..."

"Of course you did, Mr. Asano", the voice off Mrs. Ochi came into the room, making her target freeze up though she was not a stern teacher by any means if Ichigo remembered correctly. "Just like the last dozen times. Now, if everyone is seated we can begin."

It only then occurred to him that he had no clue what topic they were covering. No notebook. Not even a pencil. Everyone else was writing away, copying the introduction on the blackboard, until-

Keigo stood, frantic. "I have to go to the bathroom!"

A wave of mirth roiled through the room. Then, Kojima stood. "Sorry sensei, I as well."

Mrs. Ochi merely shook her head. "You two... One of these days I'm going to have to send someone to check what you're _really_ doing on these extended breaks of yours."

This, at least, was completely familiar. But wrong as well, Ichigo noted with a frown. Asano had stolen _his_ routine, _his_ lame excuses to get out of class, and deal with-

For five minutes he waited in indecision, then stood. "Not you too, Mr. Shiba!", the teacher said in exasperation. "We've barely even started!"

"I volunteer", he offered on the spur of the moment. "You said you would send someone to see what Asano's really doing, and I volunteer to be that person."

"Courageous of you", Ochi agreed in hesitation. "What about your notes?"

"Inoue can take them for now", he said with a pleading nod towards the girl. Thankfully, she seemed to agree. "Coming, Rukia?"

But the other girl did not seem interested, her eyes lazy. "Why? I don't think you need two people to deal with slobs like Asano and Kojima. If they're doing something bad Kaien, you're not going to attack them. At least I hope not."

Having no time to voice his confusion, he merely bowed and ran out into the hall. Rukia not joining him? Normally she was the best at cajoling the teachers into letting her go. _And why does she keep calling me Kaien? _

Something was seriously wrong. More than one thing, and he was going to find out. Thankfully, the hall was well-kept enough that the two truant's footsteps stood out. They had gone out the main hall the fastest way, across the yard, down the street, and-

The crash sound was almost as familiar as the classroom had been. It jolted him, but did not stop him from focusing on the source in a nearby park. There, he found all the classic signs of a struggle between powerful spiritual beings.

Suddenly, Kojima was running up to him, worry etched on his small face. "Mr. Shiba, you shouldn't be here! It's dangerous!"

"No kidding", he said, surveying the trench that had been carved into the soil, along with the broken jungle gym. "What's going on here?"

Kojima had always been a poor liar. This, at least, had not changed- he mopped his brow in sweat as he struggled to find an excuse for what was taking place. "I... It's a-!"

"Save it", he cut in. "A Hollow, right?"

Kojima stopped, dumbstruck. "Hm? You know about them?"

Feeling that same uneasiness coming back, his eyes widened. "Of course I do. I should be asking _you_ that."

"But... But Mr. Asano never told you anything about this."

Now he gaped. "_Asano_? Keigo knows about them too?"

"Y-yes, he's-"

But the next crash interrupted his stammering and then there was no need to finish. Bursting through the trees to their immediate left was the gruesome skull mask and dark skin of a Hollow, thrashing around as it tried in vain to hit its target.

Its target, who had just dodged back away from the creature's tail with a flying leap impossible for a human, their black robes flapping in the wind. Who was already breathing hard, but whose pointed sword spoke of one who wouldn't give up so easily.

_A Shinigami._ A Shinigami that bore Keigo Asano's face.

* * *

><p>"You look tired", Yoruichi commented once they were clear of the tunnel Hitsugaya had blasted to the surface. This early in the morning there were no humans around to wonder why a stretch of concrete had simply exploded from beneath, and they had a few seconds at least before the Spirit Eater would be coming up after them. "Let me take him from here, Taicho."<p>

He gave her a stern look, trying and failing to mask exhaustion. He was the captain here. _He_ should have been the one to finish the fight, not rely on a former assassin. "For now. Once I get my strength back, I'm finishing this."

Kinder than most of his peers might be, she didn't appear to doubt him, nor did she use the despised pet name, 'Shiro-chan'. "Alright. Apologies in advance if I kill him before then."

That surprised him. Confidence was one thing, but it didn't appear that the female Shinigami had managed to get a single shot past their enemy`s armour. "You think you can?"

"I know I can", she nodded firmly as behind them, Frigeld came rocketing up out of the hole, no longer caring who saw him. "All I needed was a little more space to move. Nice job catching onto that by the way; a little longer and the whole room would have been sheer diamonds."

Leaving him to his rest, she turned back to the enemy at hand. He did not seem weathered at all, still wielding his axe with one hand while the other stood ready to attempt an energy drain. "I'll make this fast", Yoruichi promised balefully. "I know how worried the old men get when our power gets out of hand in the world of the living."

Hitsugaya decided not to mention that problem was occupying _his_ mind as well. The level of collateral destruction a captain-level Shinigami caused with the slightest attack would surely draw humans to their doom, something expressly forbidden. Hence the _Gentai-Kaijou _limiter, which he had now removed. He would simply have to hope things wouldn't progress that far.

Ahead of him, the two charged, an un-hittable target striking an unbreakable tank a dozen times in a second's breadth, always backing off before the axe or diamonds could reach her. More of the brilliant substance shed off the armour and began to cake the ground and Toshiro backed off, resummoning the wings of his _Bankai _in order to fly above it. Inwardly though, he was dismayed; at this rate the entire area would soon be impossible to avoid slipping on. All Shihoin was doing was increasing that rate with every hit.

Then, as her foe brought his weapon down, she reached out with one arm faster than anything she had shown before to grab the weapon`s pommel. In the same instant one leg came up, kicking the weapon out of the Spirit Eater's hands and into his chest. It lay embedded there as Frigeld attempted to free it, which only encouraged the former assassin to pull it down, leaving a wide gash before it came out with an unpleasant _crunch_.

And Yoruichi smiled at Frigeld, fox-like. "That's the trick, right? Like the humans say, 'diamonds are forever'. You _can't_ take that stuff off yourself. It's impossible. You need a special diamond-cutting blade- your blade- to take it off whenever you get too hot under the collar, or when nature calls, or when you go to sleep, or anything like that."

Frigeld's only answer was a pained grunt. The Shinigami responded to it by stealing his special weapon out of his hands again and planting it in his back before he could turn around. "But hey, don't go regretting bringing that thing. The only difference it would have made is I would've had to use my _Shunko _at full power to break it. It would probably destroy this whole place and draw lots of attention that we don`t want... but you'd still die."

Leaving the borrowed blade, she returned to the first breach in the armour, kicking it with jarring force again and again until the entire piece shattered into fragments, just as his 'prison' diamonds had. A roundhouse kick to the newly-exposed robes blew Frigeld back to smash into a shed wall, where he was still.

"Not your fault", she commented flirtatiously after taking care not to slip as she landed. "You're one strong guy, that's for sure. A normal human would have been torn in half by that kick, not just broken bones. This battle was just a mismatch, that's all- speed against armour."

Turning as though those words were all the epitaph the Spirit Eater deserved, she walked back towards the hole in the ground. "Hey, looks like we got lucky- no one noticed us."

"A miracle indeed", Hitsugaya agred, descending to the ground to check her claim. If any humans had seen Frigeld thrashing around the lot trying to catch two spirits invisible to their eyes, they must have run off immediately. With any luck, they would discount the man as crazy and delusional. _Close enough to the truth._

"Back to the objective at hand. Eishinshi led us past a bunch of passages", he continued, peering down into the hole he`d made. "We'll have to check each one to find the others. If this trap was what I think it-", he trailed off, looking up in alarm. "...Rutori?"

The Shinigami's energy was there, but he himself was nowhere to be seen. Instead he saw Frigeld dragging himself back to his feet, gathering the same sparkling drops as before, transforming them into a white flash...

"A mismatch", he agreed with a savage grin. "Mismatch. Because you're a Shinigami witch... and I am the end of your kind! Hallelujah!"

Mirroring the captain's own feelings on this development, Yoruichi put her hands on her hips and gave a little laugh. "Oh, come _on_. You're seriously trying for round two? Was the cracked ribs not a clear enough sign for you?"

With the white flash came a renewed suit of diamond armour, lacking the cracks she'd put in the first one and fresh-looking as fallen snow. "Hoo-ray for you", she went on, unimpressed. "So you can reform your armour. I'll just break it apart again. Anything left to say before I put you down for real this time, human?"

"Just one thing, witch", the enemy answered plainly, without flair. "The sun is rising."

He was correct, Toshiro noticed. Following those words, the morning sun's golden rays finally pushed their way past the arcing skyline of Naruki city and warming the concrete ground with an ever-encroaching glow that Frigeld seemed overjoyed to bask himself in, letting natural light soak into the latticework of the armour, causing it to shine all the more brightly.

Yoruichi had realized something was up, had sprinted over half the distance to her target before it _hit. It_ being a flash of sunlight far stronger than the ones which had created the armour. _It_ being sufficient to burn through his eyelids even though he forced them shut in the final moment.

Toshiro howled. He could not help it. His eyes were nothing but screaming blinding burning blistering PAIN_, _and through the din he could hear Yoruichi echoing the sentiment, being much closer and more exposed to it than he.

He _could not see_, the realization hitting him like a sledgehammer to the head. The eyes he clutched at were simply refusing to open up again, immobilized by primordial instinct and absolute agony.

He could still hear, however. Hear, and stretch out his spiritual senses to the new source of _reiatsu_ which had joined them. Which had joined Frigeld rather, and fuelled his counterattack, enhancing its speed by a factor of five or more.

There were fighting noises. Grunts from Yoruichi as she took repeated unarmed blows, several loud clunks as more machinery became collateral damage. Another shout from the exile, this one unmistakably one of pain unrelated to her eyes. And still his vision would not clear, would not show him anything but pure unrelenting white brighter than his hair.

"Shinigami claim the title of 'Death Gods' ", Frigeld's voice rumbled, punctuating each new sentence with another body blow. "This is a blasphemous assertion." Crack. "A false one as well." Crash. "Though they are invisible to the eyes of normal humans, and demonstrate powers far beyond any other being living or dead." Smash. "They-", crack, "-are NOT-", _crash_, "-GODS!"

Finally, the white was going away bit by bit. His eyes still screamed in pain, but the captain forced them to behold the battle zone. As he'd feared, every hit he'd heard had signalled another injury for Shihoin, who still could not get her own eyes to open and looked too badly bruised and bloodied to fight back even if she could.

Seeing him, Frigeld gave Toshiro a grin, humourless and feral. "Like humans, Shinigami have bones that break." Crash. "They have blood that spills." Smash. "...and they_ can_ die."

Finally, he tossed his victim away to break a hydro box with her impact. She yet breathed, but only just. Her left arm hung limp. "Hah. Vile witch."

Was it _Hyorinmaru, _or his own mind which sang with the need to spill the enemy's blood, both hot as lava and colder than arctic ice? It didn't matter; Hitsugaya was back there all over again. Back in the Fake Karakura town, tricked into stabbing Momo through the back in the firm belief she was his greatest enemy... and that same enemy looking smug, proud, _happy_ about causing him such grief.

And now just as then, there was nothing centuries of Shinigami discipline could do to hold back the tide pouring forth as he screamed. He no longer cared about collateral damage, nor the chance that another human would see.

All that mattered now was that this Spirit Eater died.

The glacial ice of _Hyorinmaru_ flowed forth along with his rage, the ice dragon covering his body roaring in his head. He did not fight it.

* * *

><p><em>Zabimaru<em> spun, its coils deflecting a barrage of invisible blades. Behind it, Renji Abarai searched in vain for an opening, some way to keep track of a trio of blades that were apparently completely under the control of the young girl floating before them.

Not that he'd had to deal with all three at once. That might have been too much, even for him. One of the surviving cadets, a young looking man with a black topknot, was duelling a second with their _Zan_ while _Nogrand Juno_ of all people was working his bulky arms to block the third's attack.

"Hey!", he shouted over to the behemoth Spirit Eater. "Robot-man! Any ideas on how to beat this?"

Nogrand did not respond. Either he was too preoccupied keeping himself alive, or- more likely- he was too dedicated to give advice to his enemy even in a situation like this. Instead, after several more shots tore up his sleeves he fell back, ducking through a doorway and fleeing the raging princess.

Which meant he would now have to deal with two. "Gentai-Kaijou_, release!", _he commanded without hesitation, feeling the limiter disappear, letting his full strength free.

Orihime Inoue had started out pleading with the girl to stop, but eventually had given up and run to a safe spot. Adre had not attacked her at all; only everyone else in the industrial-looking hallway. "Kill them Gawain! Kill them, Aurius!"

_Minions, huh...? _He cast out his spiritual senses and found nothing. Adre was merely using a lot of _reiatsu_, nothing more. _Three Spirit Eaters with invisibility, maybe? _Testing his theory, he threw the back edges of his chain weapon out past the next sword to crash against it, so they would cut into anyone holding an actual sword there.

Nothing. Worse, Adre made him pay for his little experiment in blood, lashing out with the other blade to nick his waist. When his partner fell, overpowered by his own opponent, for a moment he despaired... then the familiar orange glow of _Soten Kisshu _covered them both, a shield of energy proof against all three hungry blades for the moment.

"Adre-sama, you must stop this!", Inoue cried, running up behind her barrier to examine Renji's wound. "They're my friends too!"

The maelstrom the princess had engulfed herself in gave no sign of hearing her, and Renji sighed. "Sorry. Doesn't look like she's going to listen to reason. It's not really my style to kill a little girl."

"She's just confused", Inoue insisted sadly. "Angry. She thinks you're going to take me away from her."

He scratched his bandana. "Uh. Well..."

"That was the idea", one of the other cadets confessed, looking up from healing their injuries, pointing. "And I'm pretty sure I can sense Igenari's spiritual power behind _that_ door."

"Yes", the human confessed, flustered. "He's in there. I don't know where Tatsuki-kun is..."

"Two out of three", the Shinigami lieutenant tried to be flippant. He turned back to the healer next. "Hakiza, go. Orihime can cover for you. Try to get around that crazy girl and heal Igenari as best you can. I can sense his _reiatsu;_ it's so low I'm surprised he's not dead already."

Of course it wasn't quite that simple. Adre immediately interpreted the young Shinigami's mad dash as an attack, all three blades descending before the _Zanpakuto_'s coils jumped out to block them. "I'll handle this", he told the rest of them, pleased to hear his voice bold and clear as he gave the orders. Just as his captain would have wanted. "Get out of here. Find the others, find Ichigo."

Inoue was the last to leave. She still looked frightened and with good reason, refusing to drop the barrier just yet even as three invisible knights worked to bring it down, starring it with cracks. "I'm her friend", she repeated, both hands pressed against the shield as if to strengthen it. "Her only friend. That's the only reason it's held on this long, she doesn't want to hurt me. But you..."

"You _do_ have a talent, Inoue", Renji admitted in amazement as he readied his own weapon. "And I'm not talking about your defensive spirits. But that girl is still a Spirit Eater. I can't let her keep this up, she'll destroy the entire place, bring it crashing down on all our heads."

She looked more torn than ever, but finally bowed, accepting his verdict. "I know. But Renji-kun..."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine", he assured her with a wild grin. "Save the concern for Ichigo, eh? Just give me ten more seconds."

The barrier might have breached in less time than that, but now Renji sensed Orihime reaching deeper into herself, using most of her remaining power to create a second barrier just behind the first, and just as large. He would have the time he needed, as well as the space required.

"Ban...KAI! _Hihio_, _ZABIMARU!"_

Inwardly he was pleased- it hadn't taken him nearly the energy expended as the last time he'd traded in his _Shikai_ chain weapon for the far larger bladed snake. His _Bankai_, a massive beast that filled the entire corridor in its coiled-up state. The lion-maned serpent's head alone was as large as him, certainly big enough to devour Adre if it got close enough.

This was it. This was _his_ time. His chance to prove himself a fighter to be reckoned with, that even his captain would have to respect. If he could just defeat this powerful Spirit Eater all by himself, with all his training...

"Words of wisdom, princess", he noted with a flourish as the barrier began to dissolve at last, leaving him exposed and alone, the serpent's bone fangs hovering just over his cowled shoulder. "When you're outnumbered, size _does_ matter. So, sir Aurius, sir Pendragon, sir Gawain... I'd like you all to meet _Zabimaru_."

* * *

><p>AN: My blushes- as it turns out I've been spelling Zanpakuto incorrectly for nine chapters. That'll teach me to try and sound out words I don't know instead of looking them up on Bleach Wiki. In any case, everyone probably knows what I meant.<p> 


	11. Part 11: Battles of the Mind

_Part 11: Battles of the Mind_

* * *

><p>"This can't be... I mean... !"<p>

It wasn't the most intelligible remark, Ichigo knew. He was simply stunned by the sight, something he had though impossible after so many incredible sights.

But this one just might have been the most impossible of them all. _Keigo Asano_ wearing black Shinigami robes, using Shinigami speed and strength and sword to beat down a Hollow. Impossible.

He wasn't even as bad as Ichigo guessed either. Though clumsy and possessed of more energy than needed he'd managed to cut off the thing's spiked tail and was now working on beating past the tall claws to attack the mask, a strange balloon of white bone riddled with over a dozen identical holes for eyes.

"Mr. Asano's something all right", Kojima noted from the sidelines as if the occurrence were completely normal. "I suppose there's no way to keep it from you now Mr. Shiba, since apparently you have the power to see Hollows and Pluses as well."

"It's a long story", he admitted, scratching his hair absently. "I just had no idea you two were the same way. Wait... this still makes no sense. I saw you two run right past a Hollow one time. There's no way a spaz like Keigo could have kept this from me."

"It appears that I, too, have a long story to tell", Kojima said with a resolved sigh. "There's so much to explain to you about the relationship of the Shinigami and the Hollows... Mr. Asano is not the clumsy human you're used to dealing with at the present time. He's transformed into a Shinigami to fight that creature and banish its evil soul."

"Not as long as you might think. I'm one too."

Kojima remained polite, but fixed Ichigo with a look too perceptive to be fake. "Mr. Shiba, I highly doubt that. Though I gradually attained the ability to sense spiritual beings such as ghosts as well, I have never seen _you_ wear the robes of the Death God, or perform _konso, _or fight a Hollow."

"Are you kidding me? How many times have I...?"

Only he couldn't say an example. Nothing came to mind. The confidence in Kojima's claim was resonating in him, trying to convince him of its truth. "What the... what the hell is this?"

"You're not a Shinigami, Mr. Shiba", Kojima said simply, as if the answer were obvious. "You never were. Talk to your friend Rukia, she'll tell you."

Any comedy that might have remained in this was now lost to him. This was wrong. _All_ of it was wrong. "Are you kidding me? She's the one who started everything! She's one as well!"

"Mr. Shiba", Kojima murmured, now just a little bit afraid. "Are you... feeling okay? Do you need to go to the clinic?"

"STOP CALLING ME SHIBA! MY NAME IS ICHIGO!"

He could take no more. He did not wait around to see if Keigo would triumph over his opponent, or what kind of powers his friend Kojima might lend to his aid.

All he could think to do was run.

* * *

><p>Reeve Pastell felt like he was going mad.<p>

That this was the first time he'd felt such a sensation was irksome in and of itself. He had lived eighteen years of his life in the gutters of Naruki City, scraping a living out of whatever he could find or steal. For two of those years before his 17th birthday he had actually worked for one of the underground Opium cartels, peddling product to the downtrodden, and he had considered it a point of pride that in all that time he never became an addict himself.

So as he returned on foot to Jutani Zatsua's underground lab, it was all the more infuriating to find himself in the trap of the addict now. His mind_ ached_ for another fix, if not his body.

The drug was brand new. It was called 'Ichigo Kurosaki's Memories', and it had caught him completely off guard from the moment he had touched the substitute Shinigami's skin for the first time, gaining knowledge and feelings which were not his own. The craving had been his companion ever since, influencing his earlier bargain with Kurosaki and steadily breaking down any resistance more effectively than heroin.

Coming upon the trap-door room where old man Barton had taken their Shinigami guests, he stopped to survey the horrific damage the room had suffered, anything for a distraction from the craving. The fight had covered every surface in diamonds generated by Frigeld's _Ianzamento_, blown a gaping hole in one wall and cracked the floor in a multitude of spots. Curious, he grabbed a bit of pulverized metal from the wall and began to work the blazing heat of his own _Ianzamento_ on it; there was no shortage of _reiatsu_ for such a distraction.

"Huh. So it's started already." Their creator had told them from the start that such an engagement would be inevitable, she just could say precisely _when_. Now his dependence had led to him betraying the Spirit Eaters, accelerating the inevitable Shinigami raid on their base.

Which didn't bother him as much as might be expected. Krieg Tsubaku was something of a pal being of similar age and temperament, but the rest of the 'enhanced humans' Reeve was expected to be buddy-buddy with really _weren't_. They could die for all he cared, let them fight the Shinigami as the doc had wanted. No, it was the principle of the thing, the mere fact that it had influenced his decisions in that way which terrified him.

Even without a witness he tried affecting nonchalance, slowly pacing away with an innocent whistle as if he'd made the mess. The crashing noise ringing out from above brought him back though, watching as the ceiling fell apart from the center, groaning and breaking to admit two destructive forces.

One, he recognized right away. He'd had more than one unpleasant run-in with Zatsua's resident suck-up, Frigeld Han. Usually followed up with an annoyingly self-righteous lecture on how it was his _sworn duty_ to help destroy the evil Shinigami, how it might be his _only chance_ to ever be redeemed for the _sinful_ life he'd led prior. Still, the man was far more powerful than Reeve, spent all his spare time training at the hideout instead of outside having fun. When someone that powerful got mad, only a fool would ignore him completely.

The other could only be described as an 'ice dragon'. Easily three times the size of its opponent, the winged beast roared and thrashed like a true animal as it attempted to bite into Frigeld's diamond armour or sink its claws in as they wrestled with each other. For once, it looked like the senior Spirit Eater had found a battle challenging enough for him. _Good, let's hope it kills him._

Reeve watched in amusement for a few minutes and then left them behind. The ice dragon was neat to look at but it wasn't doing much damage. It was boring, and he had more important things to deal with, like his cravings. Kurosaki was very near- he could practically taste it now. He continued whittling on the metal shard as he worked his way down each stairwell, drawing closer to his prey.

Fighting the addiction was one thing... understanding it was something else. Something the cynical 99% of his brain refuted absolutely, but the fact was still there like a stone weighing on his heart.

Was it Ichigo Kurosaki's fault that he had led this wonderful life? That he had grown up surrounded by loving friends and family? The memories told the tale of the boy whose mother had been the center of his world at a young age, before she had been taken by a Hollow when he was nine years old. That horrible experience with loss and death had made him more determined than ever to protect those who remained no matter what- every injury suffered by a sister or father registered as his own personal failure. Kurosaki was a born protector, as much a part of him as vocal mannerisms or language.

A life which ran absolutely counter to Reeve's. Stopping on a guard rail but unable to stop his own mind, he clutched at his skull in vain. "Damn it... get out of my head!" _Why? Why do I feel this way? I've never given a shit about anyone but myself, but now? These feelings... they're so warm..._

Memories faded with time. That was what Zatsua had said; any knowledge and feelings absorbed would not be quite so potent after a few days.

But he didn't _have_ a few days. He needed more. More of these wonderful feelings that made him so warm inside. Even as he recognized the craving's power, it no longer mattered. It had him now. He would betray anyone, kill whoever it took to have more...

And now he could sense Ichigo Kurosaki's power just at the bottom of the stairwell where the guardian of the _Fallos_ lurked. The lab's dark under-levels were not exactly a common memory for Reeve, having demonstrated useful powers right away even before Frigeld had found him and told him of his 'true destiny' as a Spirit Eater. Those powers had now turned his little whittling device into a nice sleek sword in case someone down there tried to mess with him.

He felt right at home. And soon, the object of desire would be in his sights.

* * *

><p>It didn't take Renji long to figure out that the best way to defeat his opponent was to simply wait her out. Whatever the actual form of her powers, Adre Gryuryana was clearly running on the rage and confusion of a frightened child. A cosmic temper tantrum, in other words.<p>

The Bankai-enhanced scales of Zabimaru took every hit without a noise of complaint as he weaved it about, sensing each strike before it happened. By not advancing, he could ward off the invisible attacks effectively, though they quickly ravaged the corridor and caused additional tremors that made him back off further.

It wasn't his style, true enough. The red-haired Shinigami had initially wanted to rush into that... that whatever it was, show off his improved skills as the lieutenant of Squad 6 and deflect every sword stroke with his unique weapon. A few years ago he might have done exactly that.

No longer. Hard experience fighting vastly more powerful opponents had taught him that different approaches were needed for different situations. This passive approach hadn't exactly worked on Syzael Aporro Granz, but in this case all he needed to do was stay alive until the tempest calmed down.

Then the other reason for his reluctance to rush the enemy appeared around the cell door, bearing with him the limp body of Rutori Igenari. "Got him, sir!", Hakiza called over triumphantly. "What now?"

"Get back with the others", he commanded. As he'd figured, Igenari's spiritual power was weak enough to be almost nonexistent. The Spirit Eaters had drained him again and again, using him as a living battery. "See what Inoue can do to reverse his injuries."

A dark-mustached veteran despite his low rank, Hakiza looked irked at being told to defer to the human woman, but did not protest. Nor did Adre move to block his retreat this time, instead collapsing to the ground, silk-garbed arms covering her face. Moving forward cautiously, Renji was quickly deterred when another invisible blade cut through the floor before him.

"It's over, princess", he tried. "There's no reason to fight anymore."

"No", came the broken reply. "No, my mother the queen will come. She'll kill all you Shinigami and save me. She'll come."

_So that's how it is_, he considered. Naturally, at least some of the Spirit Eaters would look on the doctor as something of a mother figure. _Yeesh. I'm no good at dealing with kids like this._

But he had to try. For Orihime's sake. "Hey listen. Your mother is Jutani Zatsua, right? None of us have detected her energy nearby. She's abandoned you, and her 'kingdom'."

Wrong thing to say- two swords crashed into Zabimaru with renewed force, though still more intent on keeping him at arm's length than killing. "She won't leave me! She loves me! I know she does!"

_Poor kid. _Part of him wanted to leave her here in her misery- the retrieval unit could pick her up later once all her energies were exhausted. "Okay. But for now, I have to take you with me, alright?"

Seemingly jarred from a trance by the words, Adre stood. "No, no, no! I still have my loyal protectors. They'll stop you, mean Shinigami! They have to! Kill him!"

Like they had never stopped, all three resumed the attack. This time though, Renji looked closer at each indentation, the way each hit spanged off his weapon's scales, trying to find a chink in the great serpent's armour. _About the same width as a sword's edge... but she's the one controlling it, all three of them._

A bit of musing and several near misses later, he groaned. Winning this was going to require even more uncomfortable talk on his part if he wanted to avoid killing the girl outright. "Huh." _Funny. I don't remember much direction in my lessons on how to take prisoners. Guess they just assumed we'd always be fighting Hollows of some kind, which we would never take prisoner. Oh well, here goes nothin'...!_

There were three distinct blades. The third was always the heaviest-sounding with the widest edge, and if he could remember correctly the mad princess had called that one 'sir Gawain'. When the other two struck at the head of the serpent, he threw it back, waiting until the sound echoed before rearing it forward again, mighty jaws opening: "_HIKOTSU TAIHO!_"

Wincing away from the din, he immediately regretted using the massive, cannon-like blast in such an enclosed space. But he held on for the duration as his weapon collapsed from the strain, keeping the powerful shot on course through brute strength as it shot through the air where the third invisible sword had been. "There. Now sir Gawain is injured, right?"

At once, his opponent looked as perturbed as if he'd told her Santa Claus wasn't real. Around her, Zabimaru's severed fragments floated aimlessly. "N-nuh-uh! He got out of the way! You can't catch him, he's my loyal knight!"

Fortunately, winning a make-believe fight with this kid wasn't his goal. Without any verbal shout to give it away, he pulled his weapon's handle tight, drawing the fragments back together into a rope of glowing red. Before long, Adre found she could not move her hands at all, bound by ropes of _reiastsu._

Taking a breath, Renji relaxed, waiting for the fatal strike to come at him now that he was exposed...

Nothing. No invisible sword cleaved his flesh. There was simply Zabimaru, holding his prey captive with as close to a feeling of smugness as the sentient weapon could get to.

Renji knew just how it felt: this was the first time he had ever managed to _deliberately_ break Zabimaru into its segments by using the massive energy blast 'Hikotsu Taiho' before knitting them back together to imprison a foe. "Got you. If you can't move your arms, you can't control your 'knights'. You're not even aware of the full power you possess, are you girl?"

"No fair! You're cheating!"

He laughed despite how sad his opponent looked. "Nope, just using my abilities to their fullest. If you did that, you'd probably win."

"Wh-what...?"

He shrugged. "It's all in your imagination, girl. There _aren't_ any 'knights'. You just imagined them, and your power-"

Breaking off, he faced the new spiritual presence he sensed arriving and cursed- Zabimaru was tied up holding Adre's arms and legs. He was practically weaponless against the new enemy.

Seeing who it was, he cursed again. Barton Eishinshi had snuck up on them from another passage cloaked in darkness, his walking stick helping him to negotiate the ruins the corridor had been transformed into. _And I__** sensed**__ him. Which means he's calling on the spiritual power of a Shinigami he drained. Damn it damn it damn it-_

"That is quite enough, young lad", the white-bearded Spirit Eater claimed, more stern than he had been in their last meeting. "Self-defence is one thing, but if you plan on hurting or kidnapping the princess then I shall have no choice but to intervene."

Despite his situation, Renji spat on the plating in anger. "Hands off, old man. In case you haven't noticed, we're on opposite sides of this thing." Under less strained conditions he would have considered it hilarious to call this human, who couldn't be more than 70 years, an old man compared to a Shinigami. And the same applied for Barton referring to him as a 'lad'.

Still, the Spirit Eater was not impressed by his bluster. Reaching into his coat, he removed a small syringe. "Here. If I apply this tranquilizer, will you let Adre go?"

He shook his head, now wishing he had someone to back him up on this. It felt too much like flailing around in the dark. "You tricked us once. How do I know you're telling the truth this time?"

Barton frowned, surveying the various rents and tears Zabimaru had already made in the princess' gown by holding her so tightly. "I only followed the orders of the Spirit Eater assigned to command this hideout during the Shinigami assault, Frigeld Han. Now that man is occupied fighting two of your number, so he cannot give me or anyone else orders. I do this because I don't wish to see Zatsua's daughter killed or held to ransom by your people."

Without waiting for further permission, he ran up and gently injected the fluid. Renji saw Adre's angry eyes go from shock to dazed to a peaceful slumber, sagging against the coils holding her. "There", Barton announced calmly. "I'll take her to safety, and you'll have free reign of the doctor's lab."

He pointed over to one of the doorways that hadn't been ruined by their fighting. "The Arisawa girl is down that way, the door past the training simulator on the left side. That is what you wanted, wasn't it? To save your friends?"

"Yeah." Inwardly though, he felt embarrassed. This wasn't the kind of victory he wanted. "I really should stop you. We wouldn't hurt her, just use her to make Zatsua the rest give up this craziness."

Barton's eyes flashed dangerously. He was not head Captain Yamamoto, but Renji found himself taking an involuntary step back regardless. There was a reason that people often referred to a massively powerful aura of _reiatsu_ as 'spiritual pressure', from the way that it could weigh down on weaker entities, making it harder to move and in some extreme cases, even paralysing them.

And now he felt that sensation of pressure again, not full paralysis but something just as invisible as Adre's knights slowing his movement as the old man let the mask slip for just a moment. "This poor child has been abused quite enough without _your_ contribution, my dear Shinigami", he said curtly. "I told you before that I abhor violence, and I meant every word... but if you force me I shall defend this one with my life. Do _not_ test my vow."

He looked around frantically. There was no obvious sign of whatever Barton's _Ianzamento_ might have been, but then there had been no sign for Adre either. Just like with a Shinigami's _Bankai_, one would never know exactly what each enemy's unique power was until it was revealed to them. And much like with _Bankai_ Renji felt a small, selfish desire to witness the thrill of that new _Ianzamento,_ even with the cost possibly being his own life.

He stamped down on that desire hard. He was still a soldier with a job to do. In this case, his job was to retreat from a superior force, his objective achieved. His official objective, anyway. "...Alright. You win for now old man. But you have to promise me that if we ever get the chance to meet again... that you'll show me your _Ianzamento_."

Barton coughed politely at the request, slinging the girl onto his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. "Hmph. Youth and their obsession with fancy energy attacks. Trust me lad, it's nowhere near as flashy as that monstrosity which I assume is your _Bankai_. It gets the job done, no matter if the princess might call it 'cheap' or 'unfair'. But I thank you for being reasonable, Shinigami. Your friends are waiting for you, sir...?"

He snickered. As per usual, the tough enemies were never so simple as the kind of brain-dead Hollows he was used to banishing. Killing them for glory and respect would be much easier if they weren't so... friendly. And no one would care that he'd beaten Adre if he hadn't gone on to kill or capture. "The name's Renji. Renji Abarai of the 6th Court Guard squad, under the honoured Byakuya-taicho. I'd say it's nice to have met you Eishinshi, but I don't think my superiors would approve. Just don't forget your promise, alright?"

The Spirit Eater nodded, shaking the offered hand faithfully. On the wall, his shadow flickered in the last throes of the complex's broken lights. "I shall not, Renji Abarai."

* * *

><p>Ichigo caught Rukia leaving her locker carrying notebooks, and for a second he dared hope that everything was alright, that all of this was just some horrible misunderstanding. She greeted his arrival with the same too-friendly demeanour she'd been giving him since he'd woken up in the classroom. "Oh hey Kaien. Just what were Asano and Kojima doing that took you the whole class?"<p>

"Enough with the Kaien", he growled, no longer in the mood for games. "Didn't you sense that Hollow they just killed?"

Stopping her walk, she looked puzzled. "What's a Hollow?"

"Don't joke like that, Rukia", he commanded, struggling not to freak out in front of a dozen students in the hall- and grateful that Sado and Orihime weren't there to see him like this. "You told me all about Hollows the day we first met, remember?"

Still a dry wit no matter what changes had happened, she rolled her eyes. "Kaien, I swear I have no idea what you're talking about. Were they smoking something? I swear Asano couldn't be that hyper without help-"

"Soul Reapers. Pluses. Your crappy drawings. Any of this ring a bell?"

An abrupt slap answer him but her eyebrows arched in curiosity. "Shinigami? I didn't know you believed in those. Did you want to visit the Hakuba shrine tonight?"

"No! I want you to tell me what the hell is going on here!"

Now he'd drawn some concerned eyes. He no longer cared, and Rukia dismissed them with a gesture, assuring them everything was fine. "Not my idea of a place to blow off steam", she considered earnestly, winking at him. "But I think _you_ need a date, yelling crazy things like that. Say 9 o'clock, after the clinic closes?"

Ichigo stared. Among all the impossible weirdness of today, the thing that stood out most was how_ nice_ Rukia was being to him. Flirty even, and she was _not_ the kind of girl who did that on a whim. _Brainwashed_, he decided firmly. _She has to be. Someone must have used mind control, made her think she's an actual human high-schooler living in Karakura Town, and that I'm Kaien Shiba, her boyfriend._

Why, though? Better yet, why was everyone else going along with it?

He watched her recede, waving goodbye more out of reflex than anything. Seeing her meet up with Orihime on the tarmac confirmed his suspicions that none of his other friends would know about spiritual beings. Instead of his closet, Rukia would be rooming with Orihime. All very neat and tidy, except for-

He turned, only registering after the fact that everyone else had suddenly vanished with the afternoon sun. Everyone but Kojima standing there innocently, timidly as ever.

"Answers", he snarled. "Now."

Looking thrown by the larger teen's aggression, Kojima seemed to close his eyes, retreating into himself... before looking back up and giving him a most un-Kojima-like smile. "This is what you wanted, Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Bullshit!", he screamed, no longer caring if anyone heard him, grabbing the tiny boy by the collar and pressing him against the brick. "You did this! You changed things! You're not even the real Kojima!"

"Of course not", the boy admitted. "I'm merely speaking through him to try and get you to settle down. You're being quite rude, you know. Miss Kuchiki accepted it without hesitation, why can't you?"

"This is a dream", Ichigo claimed, trying to follow years of combat instincts as he slowly remembered the past. "A dream world you created. You're the guardian. Your _Ianzamento_ put us to sleep."

Not-Kojima nodded as if they were discussing the weather. "The _Fallos_ come to me to have their heart's desires granted. That is the mercy I give to them, to try and make their harsh lives a bit easier to bear... and of course I am happy to share with anyone else who might come visit the under-levels. Even a Shinigami."

"Send me back", he demanded, pushing Not-Kojima into the brick again for emphasis. "Get us both out of this!"

Not-Kojima could not spread his arms, and settled on shrugging helplessly. "Why? I told you already, this is the world your heart longs for. You are no longer a substitute Shinigami- another has taken that burden for you. No longer will your friends be in endangered by evil spiritual beings like Arrancars."

Ichigo punched him hard. Blood dripped freely from the boy's nose, but his speech did not seem impaired by it. "Everyone you love will be safe from now on. You are free to pursue a healthy relationship with Miss Kuchiki... or not. I sense you also have a very large place in your heart for the lovely Miss Inoue. And then of course, there's your feelings for your oldest friend, Miss Arisawa."

Simultaneously enraged at the deception and relieved that _something_ finally made sense, he chuckled darkly. "If you think that Keigo can do what I've done, win the battles I've fought, you're dreaming. No pun intended."

"His sister Mizuho and his best friend-", and here Not-Kojima pointed to himself, "-have both gained innate spiritual powers and will help him. The exiles Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san will train him to fight the Arrancars and defeat Sosuke Aizen in the Winter War. If not them, then someone else in Karakura Town would have to carry the burden."

"No", Ichigo breathed out in protest, staring into those calm eyes with hatred. "No they don't. Because none of this is real. That means it's completely worthless. Release Rukia from your spell _now_, let us both out of here. If you don't, I'll-"

"Kaien?"

_That voice...? _Dropping Not-Kojima's limp body, he turned to the sound behind him. A completely white tunic draped the familiar body, but none of that mattered next to the face. Full, colourful lips accenting the most warm, caring brown eyes he would ever know, and auburn hair of medium length that was always so soft to the touch and smelled like cotton candy on good days, which were most days when she was around...

Masaki Kurosaki, in the flesh.

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks for the review HokkaidoMaster. And a Merry Christmas to all.


	12. Part 12: On the Precipice of Defeat

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach. OCs are mine though.

* * *

><p><em>Part 12: On the Precipice of Defeat<em>

* * *

><p>"Something wrong with dinner, Kaien?"<p>

He looked up. No. Absolutely nothing was wrong. Dinner tasted just as good and fresh as he had always remembered his mother making it at home. Better than anything Yuzu cooked, by the simple virtue of it being prepared by the person he loved the most.

"I'm not feeling that hungry really. Do you mind if I come back later?"

"Of course not. Whenever you like."

"Yeah", came the agreeable voice of his father, Isshin. "Just means more for us! Right, ladies?"

His younger sisters Karin and Yuzu murmured agreement and Ichigo found himself grinning despite everything. The dream simulacrum of Isshin Kurosaki was flawless. Like everything else it was exactly how he remembered it, only better. Because his mother was still alive.

It wasn't until he closed the door to his room and plumped down on the familiar bed that he realized why things still didn't feel right. "It's wrong. An illusion. All of it. He's just creating all this so we'll never leave. I have to-"

Go? Why? How, for that matter. No natural dream ever lasted this long. He had already tried slapping himself and applying cold water to his face. He wondered what might happen when he went to 'sleep' in this world.

Rukia had bought into this already. She believed it. Her subconscious _wanted _to believe it. They could live here without a care in the world, go to school together, grow old together, and he...

He would forget there had ever been another world. While no expert on mental attacks, he could tell that much. Already concentrating the goal of escape took some effort. The longer he stayed, the less he would want to leave. And then...!

"Excuse me", a jovial voice intruded on his musings. "Don't_ I_ get a say in this?"

The intruder forcefully kicked him off the bed before he could react. Getting back to his feet, he saw monochrome Shinigami robes and groaned. "Not _you_ again."

Not only the robes, but the entire body of this particular visitor were completely devoid of colour, save for the harsh yellow glow of its wildly distorted eyes. Worse, it was like looking into a mirror. A mirror image who liked to smile at you in the most disturbing ways possible. His inner Hollow was never a good portent, and it never would be.

"Yes", his duplicate said with a mocking laugh. "_Me_ again. Come ON! You knew this one was coming. Did you really think, even for a moment, that I'd let you give up so easily? You haven't even_ tried_ to fight this guy yet! It's disgraceful! You have to FIGHT!"

"Fight?", he asked the grinning Hollow in exasperation, spreading his arms. "How am I supposed to fight _this_?"

For a moment, his mirror put one hand to his forehead in disappointment. "Heh... I just can't believe this. Is your memory really that bad? You're a fucking joke!"

Still possessed of the same lightning-quickness Ichigo remembered from their duels inside his mind, the Hollow reached out and shoved him back into the closet door. It was jarred open to reveal the gaping lack of the spare bed Rukia always used. "You _know_ it's an illusion. It's all in your head. Like me. So kill as many as you need to break it!"

"I can't!", he shouted back in protest. "They're still my family!"

"And he _knows_ that! He knows you're too weak to do it! So you'll be stuck here like the pathetic _baka_ you are." Visibly disgusted now, his inner Hollow sat down on the bed and folded its legs and arms, pouting. "All I regret is being stuck here with you forever."

"There's no need for that", Kojima's voice came, precluding his appearance right there in their room, positioned with his arms spread between Ichigo and his inner Hollow as if teleportation were an everyday thing. "You're a nightmare from a life gone by. I'll banish you and return Mr. Shiba to the world he desires!"

Naturally the inner Hollow found this threat hilarious, coming from one of Ichigo's human classmates who normally possessed no paranormal powers at all. The speed with which Kojima darted in to strike with his bare hands however, quickly silenced his laughter. "He controls this WORLD!", the Hollow called over to his duplicate as they fought, falling off the bed before blasting out the window of his room. "You give in, and he controls YOU! Don't you DARE surrender! You have to WIN!"

As Ichigo watched, the shattered window blurred, restoring itself to its normal state. Outside of it, the two continued to fight with passing citizens completely oblivious.

Of course they wouldn't. It was _his_ mind, and he knew perfectly well why those two were duelling. But of all the times he'd seen his ghoulish inner Hollow up close, never had he imagined he would be rooting for it to win.

"Damn it", he mumbled, preparing to rush downstairs after them. "Why him?"

* * *

><p>Frigeld Han roared in irritation as he fought. This was taking entirely too long.<p>

From the very beginning of the battle it had been obvious to Zatsua's second-best warrior that the purple-haired noblewoman with brown skin was the more experienced and powerful of the two mighty Shinigami that he'd chosen to fight today, even if she had acted far more childish than the white-haired boy in the captain's robes had.

Thus, when he'd swept aside the _Shunpo-_using witch with his full power, he had thought his second opponent might recognize the hopelessness of his situation, and so become an easy kill for him. As it turned out, just the opposite was true; the Hitsugaya boy had bellowed his rage into the Naruki City sky, transforming into a massive ice dragon and laying into the Spirit Eater with strength he hadn't guessed existed. A feral enemy who made up for a lack of tact with sheer aggression, he had already caused more damage to their surroundings than the rest of their battle combined, smashing through the concrete and leaving behind a crater when they'd fallen back into the trap room.

Then they'd destroyed the wall there and fallen into another hall full of machinery, including but not limited to sleep chambers. It was there that Frigeld felt his borrowed spiritual energy ebbing, and knew that if he did not end this battle soon, he would be running on empty.

But the creature Hitsugaya had become simply would _not_ give him any openings: the diamond stream attack had failed to penetrate its skin. It was all he could do to avoid being chewed upon by the serpentine head, swift as a viper. Had he known this was going to happen, he would have defeated this one first before turning his full attention to the witch.

Unless of course, she would have reacted a similar way to seeing Hitsugaya fall. _That _could have been the end of him right there if her anger was the key to a similar dormant power.

Dodging the snapping head as it descended, his diamond-cutting blade cleaved through the left claw, severing the arm without resistance. For the fifth or sixth time, moisture in the air condensed around the wound, instantly freezing and reforming into a replacement limb almost before the previous one had shattered on the floor.

The creature had done this now with its arms, wings and barbed tail already, and Frigeld no longer had any reason to think a decapitation would slow it very much. Falling back from the chaos, he closed his eyes tight, remembering what had brought him here. _Concentrate. Believe in the power of the righteous. Look closely, and behold the weakness of this Shinigami wretch who dares think himself your better. You are stronger! You are the righteous! You shall win!_

The enemy was composed entirely of eternally-regenerating ice... but he could not forget the impudent runt it had started from. The flesh and blood core, so to speak, had to be in there somewhere, buried beneath the transparent shell.

_There_. Difficult to see even when the creature wasn't in a blur of frenzied motion, but there was something. Hitsugaya, frozen into a pose and an expression of absolute rage, enclosed inside the large chest portion of the dragon. _The weak point. But how to get to it?_

The answer did not to him come right away, and his opponent seized the moment to fire off some kind of breath weapon that left the flooring it touched covered in ice spikes the size of cars, already cracking apart from the temperature shock. Inspired, he ran through another door to buy time. When the beast blasted through the next wall into the room where the Spirit Eaters and Zatsua had held the majority of their meetings, he stepped forward into the light.

His remaining power was now spent. This would be his last suit of diamond armour for the foreseeable future.

But he had been sure to make it a good one, far better than the one he had started with. This suit was reinforced enough to make him seem bigger, fully half the size of the dragon. It had developed pockets of layered diamond-boron sheeting protecting the spots that he knew would be struck by tearing claws and teeth soon enough. More important were the sharp spikes lining the armour around the protective neck brace and legs, one more crowning the helmet piece.

Could they do the job? He would find out soon enough.

Charging with a furious scream, he leaped over the ice breath to kick the creature's head with hard diamond boots, knocking it away as a diversion. Claws and tail lashed out as a single entity, forcing deft use of his axe to cut them before they hit. Before they could grow back, Frigeld was directly in front of the creature's chest, barrelling in... and holding, the spikes driving into the ice like stakes.

The dragon's enraged response was instantaneous, as was the Spirit Eater's laugh. "Fool! Diamonds cannot be broken, Shinigami! Try all you wish to pry me free; in a moment this shall all be over!"

He pushed forward twice more. Each spike was buried in deep now; he couldn't move, he couldn't dodge... but he didn't _need_ to in order to strike at the chest again and again and again. Wings, talons and tail all fought to tear him loose like a biting insect driving the dragon mad, but that close in most of the attempts were awkward, often doing more damage than the Spirit Eater might have managed on his own. After over a hundred blows a small bit of ice finally caved in, which was gradually widened into a hole leading to the Shinigami at the dragon's heart.

Ditching the axe, Frigeld reached and grunted- here his spikes worked against him, holding him suspended outside the hole. _Come on now. _Muscles straining. _Just a bit further. _Muscles screaming. _Concentrate. Believe. All you have to do is touch him, and...!_

Then there was the sensation of movement, the dragon charging forward into a wall in its latest effort to jar him loose. The wall would have crushed him. _Would_ have, had the impact not pushed him the final few inches, his overextended left hand along with it, a single index finger stretching further and touching Hitsugaya's cheek.

That was all he needed. The dragon thrashed and screeched as if dying, inflicting further damage to the large room as it crashed into walls and ceilings. Inwardly, Frigeld estimated over half the complex had been destroyed or left unusable by their battle. A heavy loss indeed, but Jutani Zatsua had gotten good use out of this facility before being forced to abandon it. It simply meant they would have to rebuild anew. Even if it took them years like the last one had, they could start over.

After they wiped the Shinigami race from existence, of course.

He ignored the flood of memories coming into his mind now as best he could, focused on draining the boy's energy quickly. It remained as background noise, a semi-entertaining distraction while the dragon's furies began to slowly weaken. _ Rangiku Matsumoto... Momo Hinamori... and Hyorinmaru... this one has spent a lifetime trying to be taken seriously, fighting against the stigma of his childish appearance. A harsher temper than expected of a Captain._

He could certainly relate- none of his comrades, not even Nogrand Juno, ever took their mission as seriously as he wished them to. After several more minutes, the dragon's spasms finally ceased. It stopped flying and lay down on the floor with a mournful cry before shattering completely.

Then it was merely him and Hitsugaya, the latter marked with the ashen gray flesh of an energy drain, but awake... and still able to stand!

"_Now_ it's over", Frigeld announced, as if trying to convince himself between gasps. They were _both_ panting, even as the stolen _reiatsu_ filled him. "I've taken whatever you had left. Now you face the final judgement for your sins, Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Don't... be so sure", the captain gasped after a moment, clasping his sword. "I can... still-"

A vicious jab cut him off, knocking the weapon away as a demonstration of just how little energy he had left. "Fool. Bladed combat is not my only forte", the Spirit Eater claimed, spreading his punching hand to indicate his upgraded final armour. "I trained for years in our simulators here to prepare for this moment, attaining experience in all manner of warfare. Only one Spirit Eater has ever surpassed me in the field of unarmed battling. While _you_, abomination, have grown to depend wholly on the freezing powers of your _Zanpakuto!_"

He saw the boy's turquoise eyes wavering, surveying the scene as they fought exhaustion, noticing as he had that both of them had dropped their weapons... "You have_ lost, _captain Hitsugaya. You have no energy left to fight back, and certainly nothing left that can break my final armour."

"Then finish it", the boy spat. "I'd rather die on my feet... holy man."

His eyes grew wide, but the enemy did not try to make a break for their sword during the period of shock. "You know? How?"

"Flashes of memory", Hitsugaya whispered shakily, as if emboldened by his correct guess. "Don't you know it goes both ways? While you were draining my power and knowledge, I was at least able to take in some of your memories as well. Old Shinigami secret. I saw... a few things. You were a pastor, correct?"

"Yes", he growled. There was no use in lying. It didn't matter. "Before my _Ianzamento _was unleashed, and I became aware of our great mission."

"That explains it", Hitsugaya nodded. "Do you not understand now why we keep our existence a secret from most of humanity?"

He was not in the mood to play guessing games. His next punch rocked the boy back onto his feet, his kick to the chest drawing blood. "You are biding your time. Waiting for the right moment to strike at us!"

Hitsugaya looked like he wished to say more, but the damage was finally catching up with him and he choked up. "No?", Frigeld screamed at him in barely-checked fury, lashing out again and again. "Nothing more to say to me, Shinigami? No more clever riddles to offer before I END YOU?"

On a whim he attempted a grabbing headbutt. This made his skull ache even through his helmet, but it knocked the boy down to the floor. "Blessed silence at last ...Hallelujah."

Most of the diamond spikes on his final armour had been torn off during the explosion of the ice dragon. But one survivor was still hanging onto the right wrist, and calling to the Powers That Be as his witness, Frigeld Han raised that deadly implement to the air in careful preparation for the final blow.

* * *

><p>Not-Kojima and the Hollow had not stopped, had not rested, in all the time it took for Ichigo to find them at a nearby construction site. Everything was exactly where he remembered it being in his home, and every person was a familiar face walking by, wondering where their friend Kaien Shiba was running off to.<p>

The two had continued on, incidental dodges carrying them higher and higher up the unfinished structure with the kind of nimbleness only soul reapers and Hollows could manage. From the bottom, Ichigo endured a painstaking climb after them, each jolt of muscular pain a reminder that in this world, he was only human.

Then, several stories above him, he heard Not-Kojima stop his assault and stand by. "How tenacious, Mr. Kurosaki. It clearly shows your intent to drive Mr. Shiba into further bloody conflicts."

"It's what he wants", the Hollow growled. "I told that idiot- _I'm Zangetsu_. And you're just a cheap parlour magician!"

"So you say", Not-Kojima replied, polite as ever. "I confess myself outmatched in this case. To purge a Hollow, one requires a Shinigami."

And so a Shinigami appeared on the next girder over. Keigo Asano, looking uncharacteristically serious and determined, raising his _Zanpakuto_. "Man, this Hollow looks just like my buddy Kaien! Watch out, Kojima! I'll take care of this!"

The battle was joined. Not-Kojima was content to stand back now, and was waiting for Ichigo when he finally reached the roof of the building. "You see?", he asked. "These destructive impulses of yours can be cured. All we have to do is remove the evil within you. It is_ Zangetsu_ which drove you to constantly seek out battles with powerful opponents, not you."

"That's bull", he snarled. "_Zangetsu_ didn't make me do anything."

"No? What is the phrase...? 'It's not like I want to win. I have to win'? Sound familiar?"

He paused as Keigo blocked a particularly strong hit. He'd said those words to his enemies, and meant every syllable. "That's not...!"

"Not _Zangetsu_? How would you know? Has that sword not constantly pushed you to strive for such, threatening to sever its allegiance if you ever surrendered a battle? You don't _need_ it here, Mr. Shiba. It's an artifact of death that controls its wielder and brings down misery into their lives. I'm giving you the chance to walk away from it."

The Hollow seemed to sense him wavering, as it suddenly reached out and generated a duplicate of his _Shikai _to fight Keigo with. "You need me!", it cried out. "You need my power to save those you care about, don't you?"

"They don't need saving", Not-Kojima replied impassively. "Not now. Not here."

Sensing both were at their limit, Ichigo closed his eyes and gave a short laugh. "You Spirit Eater people really must not be very strong, if you have to resort to these kinds of mind games."

And with that, he brought out the spreading knife he'd picked up at the base of the construction site, grabbing Not-Kojima before making sure to stab him deep in the heart. The small boy looked angry for a moment, but the life melted from his eyes just as quickly.

"That's the spirit!", his inner Hollow cackled as it beat a confused Keigo back. "None of this is real after all! A peaceful life, without any fighting? BOOO-ring!" Encouraged by the sight, he threw a wide slash to back his opponent up before unleashing the spiral form of the _Getsuga Tensho_. Keigo was quickly overwhelmed, blasted off the building to scramble in the air before falling the whole way down.

"So", Ichigo began, still not quite over his resentment of this grinning mirror enough to look him directly in the eye, or to thank him. "How exactly do I get out of here?"

The Hollow chuckled at him. "Simple! All you have to do is-"

The sound cut off abruptly, as though the Hollow's voice was a muted TV set with its lips still moving. It clearly noticed the change, but did not have time to dwell on it before it began to slowly fade out.

"Don't leave me, Ichigo", Masaki's voice begged of him from behind. "I love you!"

"Only a distraction", he muttered fearfully, knowing that by the time he turned back his Hollow would be gone, leaving behind only the sword _Zangetsu_. Masaki was waiting for him, looking as genuinely scared as ever before. "You're _not_ my mother!"

And then, just as Not-Kojima had done, the woman shed all pretension of gentleness, her beautiful hair hiding the anger that suddenly overtook loving eyes. "Good. Then it won't be a crime to rip you to pieces."

The charge was slow and predictable, would have been harmless to Ichigo even if she'd carried a weapon... but it did not need to be. Nothing he had just seen or heard made a difference to his muscles, which simply refused to let him raise a weapon against Not-Masaki. Only several close calls which only encouraged her to be more reckless, nearly leaping onto the _Shikai_ and requiring every bit of his strength to prevent it.

"This is only as hard as you make it", the guardian's voice came to him through Masaki's lips. "You don't want to live in a paradise? Then I can send you to the very worst hell your mind can imagine."

That seemed to help him fight his own muscles- he caught the next rush unthinking, refusing to look at the blood spraying over the roof. "You already have."

The blue sky above had darkened with heavy storm clouds. The world around him seemed to recoil for a moment from that exclamation.

But it did not prevent its creator from repeating the same act again. This time a simulacrum of Isshin Kurosaki rose up, _Zanpakuto_ in hand, devoid even of the attempt at pretending compassion or any part of his real father. "Gonna beat you, boy. Daddy's gonna beat you."

_There's no end to this_, he thought in panic as Not-Isshin drove at him with all speed. _I can't get _out_. He'll just cycle through every single person in my life, throw them at me like meat. How can I...?_

His preoccupation led to a near miss by Not-Isshin. It also gave him his answer, hitting him like the dawn of a new sun.

"My real father would've gotten me there. You're missing me on purpose. Because the one thing you _don't_ want to do is kill me! If you kill me, well... I'll wake up!"

The realization, spoken out loud, was enough to stun Not-Isshin long enough to strike through his exposed neck. It was actually easier than Not-Masaki had been; combat reflexes simply took over, angling _Zangetsu_ for the perfect cut despite him being a human.

But if doing that had been easy on his deepest impulses not to hurt those he loved, then he could already tell the next materializing opponents would be impossible for him to attack. Two of them, smaller than the adults.

"You don't know that!", the pitch black sky demanded in a frenzy, no longer even bothering to speak through the mouths of Karin and Yuzu. "No one has ever tried! You will be lost!"

"Better than living a lie. Better than surrender."

Ichigo ran. He leaped, spreading his arms as if expecting to fly as the wind rustled his clothes and hair. He was certainly no stranger to long falls, but this was different. He was not a Shinigami, lacked the toughness to survive falling off the building, and so the related fear was much greater even if it had not made him hesitate.

And now he could not hesitate, even as nagging doubts crept into those final seconds. There was nothing anyone could do. The pavement below rushed up towards him faster and faster and everything was gone.

* * *

><p>Seeing his end in the descending spike of diamond, Toshiro Hitsugaya could only flinch away and prepared himself for nothingness.<p>

He was not wholly disappointed to find himself still breathing, if shallow. The weapon had not shattered. Merely been misdirected, knocked aside by the leaping kick of Yoruichi Shihoin before the Spirit Eater connected to it was blasted clear by her follow-up strike.

_Still alive, _he marvelled at the ex-noble. At this point he was too worn out for stubborn pride, and too injured to reject any aid, even from her. _Still strong enough to go on even after the terrible beating she took less than ten minutes ago. _The appearance of the healer Narahama along with the rest of the retrieval unit he'd told to hang back explained some of that, but it did not make her recovery any less amazing.

Frigeld Han apparently thought so too- his eyes bulged as he tried to duck past the assassin to retrieve his weapon with no luck. "God almighty, what does it_ take_ to be rid of you, witch?"

"More than you've got, wonder boy. That trick with the sunlight doesn't work indoors, and I wouldn't fall for it a second time anyway." Though speaking the same overconfident taunts as usual, her voice was now bled of the gentle humour he'd gotten used to, turned instead to pure focus. Now he reminded him more of her old disciple Soifon: a dedicated killer who treated any opponent with the utmost seriousness along with contempt.

Then he felt a new aura of spiritual power, a positive one instead of an enemy, bolstering his strength with its own. Narahama, exposing herself to tend to his injuries and allow him to stand. "Yeah, that's not happening", he could still hear Yoruichi's taunts over the hum. "Attack Narahama and I'll hit you in the back so hard that _I'll_ feel it. Same if you try for the axe. It's over."

She hadn't charged, he noticed as his vision cleared of blood. Only a delaying action, fighting to keep the Spirit Eater from retrieving his weapon or attacking the healers or him. For all her confidence and beautiful speed, she must have lacked the energy to resume the offensive, showing caution at the sight of an upgraded form of the armour she'd destroyed earlier.

The enemy knew it as well. "Your attempts at emulating humans remain as transparent as ever", he commented stiffly once it was clear any move he made would be intercepted by the 'Flash Goddess' of Soul Society. "I believe it's supposed to be 'your mother will feel it'."

"I know", the assassin replied without a trace of jest. "Oh, I know you were born a human, but from what I've seen you've discarded every bit of that life. It's my fault. You wouldn't fight your mother now, would you?"

Frigeld's face mirrored the shock Toshiro was feeling but too dizzy to express. Was she serious, or was this some ploy to distract him until someone could strike the killing blow? _Me_, he decided in annoyance. _She's counting on me to strike from behind when he charges, after I get enough of my strength back to do that. No one else here is powerful enough._

Forcing himself to stand, he beheld the enemy anew, the bizarre spikes of hair and robes, the cleanness of his skin, the bewilderment and anger on his face. "Preposterous. More Shinigami lies!"

"No lie, big guy. I'm at least as responsible for all this as Matoba Arisawa is. That's why I came along for the ride- to end it."

"Responsible for us?" Frigeld pondered that for a moment, giving Toshiro time to get back the feeling in his legs. "Ahh... Of course. You're_ that _one. The Shinigami who slew mistress Zatsua's family. How convenient."

He moved, flash-stepping out of sight without the slightest hint of attack. Yoruichi had been the only one to expect it and the only one fast enough to react, but she had been waiting for a desperate rush at Narahama, herself, or the enemy's diamond-cutting weapon.

_Not_ Toshiro's own weapon, his _Zanpakuto_, which was still lying on the floor where it had fallen after the 'ice dragon' had been blasted to bits.

And if she had held any suspicions that might happen, she certainly would not have expected Frigeld to use Hitsugaya's own power to fuel the blade, the _reiatsu_ he had stolen with skin contact earlier. "Awaken, _Hyorinmaru! _ Destroy her_!_"

So there it was. His opportunity, a better opening than Yoruichi could have provided him. Pushing away from Narahama's gentle healer's hands, he took a deep breath as he felt the weapon's power rising again. "Frozen Heaven- _Hyoten Hyakkso_."

His ally tensed, preparing to dodge some kind of ice attack as the weapon's power flared outwards, incomprehensible as ever to all who were not its master. But he knew now, without a doubt, that with those four words he had sealed the Spirit Eater's doom.

_Hyorinmaru _had been listening to him. Even if it recognized the unique flavour of energy, it could also hear his voice. And now it had responded to his command, releasing the massive prison of ice on the thief who had taken it, knowing right away which of the identical fountains of _reiatsu_ was its true master, and which one was false.

Frigeld Han did not even have time to cry out before the prison engulfed him. Like every enemy who had faced this technique, he became frozen solid in a massive chunk, which began blossoming flowers of ice and snow along its top. "Beautiful but deadly", he announced to the room regretfully. "When one hundred of those flowers bloom, their petals fallen... the victim is dead."

Some of the retrieval unit's people were awed and impressed by that. Hitsugaya wasted no time showboating, calmly watching the counter representing the enemy's life force tick upwards. Twenty flowers blooming. Twenty one. Twenty two...

"Not what I expected", Yoruichi admitted, scratching her purple mop sheepishly. "Geez. I must be getting soft- there's no way that sunlight trick should have caught me off guard like that. Sorry, 'Shiro-chan."

"It was unlike anything we'd seen", he offered back in equal humility. Thirty five, thirty six... "As with Kurosaki Ichigo, I cannot thank you for the assistance in any official capacity lady Yoruichi. But impersonally, I... am glad that you decided to help us defeat this one." _Your little confession we can discuss later, when we're not in the bowels of enemy territory_, he mused darkly. Fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four... He could not let the exile out of his sight now, he realized. Not after what she'd admitted to. _Easier said than done. She is called the 'Flash Goddess' for a reason._

Best to give her the benefit of the doubt for the time being, he decided. Though as exhausted as he, she remained dangerous. If she did flee, odds were she'd end up back with Urahara Kisuke, who could certainly be persuaded to surrender a possible traitor in his midst. Sixty-five, sixty-six, sixty-seven-

Ice flower number sixty-eight shattered. Not losing its petals as the rest before it had done, but simply breaking apart into shards too tiny to see. The rest began to follow suit, new blooms shattering the moment they appeared. He stared. The enemy's power was welling up from_ inside_ the crystal, more terrible and determined than ever before. The destruction was spreading, cracking the prison...!

Then his ally dashed forward and struck the ice with a battle cry. This completed the fragmentation, but from the moment Frigeld Han stepped from the ice it was clear this was not what he had intended.

His bones were shaking from the cold. His eyes were rolled up in his head, his skin ripped apart by the strain. He staggered forth, bleeding from both knees, staring hard at the Shinigami all around him.

"Enough", was all Hitsugaya could think to say to him. "Let your soul be at peace, holy man."

And the man froze, this time without the need for ice or diamonds. _Hyorinmaru_ dropped from his hands with an echoing clatter. "Ha... le... lu... jah...!"

He toppled like a tree. Motioning Narahama forward, Toshiro ordered her to check the body very carefully for any sign of lingering life. Only ten seconds after she'd reported in the negative did he sheathe his retrieved sword and breathe normally again.

"I know the feeling, Taicho", Yoruichi remarked on his relief with some of her usual glibness back, examining the body with her own clinical eyes. The 'final armour' had been mostly broken along with the body inside it. "Some people just don't know when to stay down. He said that he was the second strongest, right?"

"Yes" he replied, widening his survey to the chamber- or chambers, plural- that their fight had destroyed. Most of it was his doing, when he'd lost himself to rage and become that monstrous dragon. _Yet another thing I have no choice but to report. No one ever said being commander would be easy._

"Great. That means now all we have to do now is kill the number one strongest Spirit Eater, whoever they are, and it's smooth sailing from there, right?"

He gave her a dirty glare normally reserved for Matsumoto when she said something ignorant. "You make it sound so simple, lady Yoruichi."

"It is that simple", she promised eagerly, making him think of her confession again. "Hey, I'll admit I was impressed by that guy's stamina. Not very many people can flash-step quickly while wearing such heavy armour, especially a human... But I still wasn't using everything I had on him. I-", she broke off, face darkening. "Wait. His soul."

"Already on it", he assured her, turning _Hyorinmaru_'s flat hilt to face the body, preparing to perform the soul-guiding ritual known as _konso_. With what they'd just gone through, it was easy to forget that a Shinigami's primary purpose was to guide errant souls to their proper destination.

"I was merely waiting to see if_ you_ would remember, exile. After all the destruction he caused in life, the last thing I want right now is for this human's soul to Hollowfy and become dangerous again... But somehow, I doubt very much that will happen no matter what I do."

"Hn? Why not?"

Continuing the sword ritual with the practised ease of a hundred thousand repetitions, Hitsugaya offered her one of his rare smiles, if a sad one. "Because it's not an evil soul."

Unsurprisingly, several of the retrieval unit's members looked at him as though he'd gone mad. Yoruichi was beside herself. "Are you pulling my leg, Taicho? After all that yammering he did about 'purging the world of the evil Shinigami' you think he's _good_?"

He shrugged at her. All he could offer was the truth that he'd seen in his own mind. "You know that he drained me partway earlier. He saw some of my memories then, but I arranged it so that I could also see some of _his_ at the same time. He's a pastor, Shihoin. A man of the church who has married hundreds of couples in his life. His name was Nambus Han."

"I don't care who he was", she growled, transforming back into a cat likely to conserve her remaining strength. "'Shiro, this guy was _not_ just some misguided priest. He killed those two cadets. He was going to kill us both if we allowed him."

"Humans have their belief systems. It helps them focus on doing good instead of evil", he maintained patiently. He'd felt the exact same way as her on the inside when he'd first seen those memories, not wanting to believe what he'd experienced. "He devoted his life to that system and performing acts of goodness out of belief in the afterlife. What do you suppose his reaction was when his _Ianzamento_ manifested, and he found out that _we_ are the jurors of the afterlife instead of some omnipotent deity?"

The rest of them merely acknowledged the obvious answer to his riddle, just one more facet of the reason why the Shinigami never revealed themselves to the human public, had even been known to use _Kido_ spells that altered one's memory in the case of a mishap.

Yoruichi, however, looked more upset than he had ever seen her. For a moment he thought she might attack him, so rigid and tense her frame had become. Instead she shifted, transforming back into a black cat. "Fine. Since you have things under control here, I guess I'll go find the others."

Toshiro let her slink off, motioning for one of the retrieval unit to follow. He didn't _think_ the exile would run away from the questions he wanted to eventually ask her, but there was no telling with someone unpredictable as lady Yoruichi.

They all had their own ways of dealing with problems, he knew. Their own flaws and attributes, and to the untrained eye the Shinigami could simply look like humans wearing strange black and white coats. About as far away from the lofty human concept of 'God' could be. Like many humans, this one would never be willing to believe in them. Such a revelation would shake any number of organizations founded on belief in divine beings to their core, escalating into accusations, violence and much suffering.

Not that it was their fault. It was just a fact. "We are what we are, Frigeld Han", he whispered along his blade's length. "Not even the soul reapers can change that fundamental truth."

His enemy's glowing soul gave no indication of Hollowfying. It flickered once in Hitsugaya's calm eyes, then he felt it pass on to the next life, never again to be seen by any who had fought that day.

* * *

><p>AN: And thus passes the first of my original character villains for my 'arc'. It turns out diamonds can be broken. Usually with another diamond sharpened to an edge.

In trying to be true to the pacing and dedication to backstories of the actual series, I'm not quite sure if I dragged out this marathon battle and death sequence too long or too short (even the despicable Nnoitra was given an oddly dignified demise, and most of the other Espada take several episodes to fall, if not dozens). It often takes that long to establish just how incredibly tough a given villain is to bring down, and gives the opportunity to showcase their various attacks and powers over a greater period of time.

Hopefully Frigeld Han's motivations have now been suitably explained without making him any less of a menacing figure or making him a stereotype because believe me, he won't be coming back.

Happy New Year!


	13. Part 13: Will of the Heart

Part 13: _Will of the Heart_

* * *

><p>The weight pressing on his stomach helped Ichigo rouse himself from what felt like a slumber of months. For one horrible moment he wondered if that was exactly the case, but it wasn't long before other thing demanded his attention.<p>

One, Rukia was still out cold. She had passed out the same as him once the guardian's sleep power had taken hold, and was now nestled in his arms as though it was intentional.

Two, there was a familiar hand mere inches away from his chin. The moment the owner of that hand realized that he had woken up, it clamped onto him, eager to drain more energy through skin contact.

For a handful of seconds he smothered, helpless. Reeve Pastell did not offer any gloating or false compliments this time. Merely a deadness in his wide eyes that made him look like one deep in a trance.

Ichigo was feeling much more than a little light-headed by the time the kick shot up to strike the arm, Rukia quickly standing and slashing with her _Zanpakuto_ to get the other arm away from his face. She would have kept going had Reeve not run, and soon his victim felt strong enough to stand again.

"All better now?", she asked in mock patronage.

"You should talk", he grunted, only waiting long enough to check the guardian's motionless body in the sleep chamber before breaking into a run. "Or do you remember any of that?"

The words made her apprehensive enough to slow down for a moment, but thankfully their quarry had not run far. The blood trail from where Rukia had cut him was leading into a new door accessing a large chamber devoid of the damage that had rocked the lab while they were out. A forest of steel and glass tubes crowded it, and gave the Spirit Eater many places to hide.

"Hollows", Rukia remarked quickly, beholding the pitiful creatures sliding about in each tube with disgust. "Just as we thought."

"They only have one Shinigami", he shrugged, watching the masked souls strain against the tubes holding them- the arrival of two fresh Shinigami had surely woken them from an energy-drained delirium. Most of them were small like the kind he'd seen in Hueco Mundo, but several towards the center were large and misshapen like the kind often seen in Karakura town, though nothing powerful enough to be a serious threat even had they possessed their full strength.

"Plus you", she couldn't help but point out. "Does this _baka_ have a grudge against you or something?"

"Beats me. Maybe he doesn't like my hair." In truth he had a number of theories as to why Reeve was so determined to drain him regularly, but nothing solid. _Maybe he just does it to annoy me, keep me weak enough so that I can't cut the bastard down where he stands._

Once separate, they didn't have to wait long. Two minutes passed. The enemy was clearly just as impatient as Ichigo despite being shrouded by something not too far away from a hall of mirrors. The pounce came from behind one of the tubes made completely opaque by its Hollow occupant, both hands gripping him from behind and followed by shaky, whispery laughter as he felt his energy being leeched away _again_...

"Gotcha. You're mine!"

Just as they had expected.

There was a grunt, a flash of light from Rukia's beautiful milk-white _Zanpakuto_, a scream and the feeling of warm fluid spilling out over Ichigo's robes. Reeve fell back clutching a stump at his right elbow, continuing to howl as he took out his denial on the tubes all around him. His scream rode an outpouring of stolen energy, which shattered the entire collection at once and swamping them with glass shards.

By the time he'd regained his senses, there was an army of Hollows in the room. Angry ones.

"Damn", he remarked lightheartedly, not looking at any of the hundreds of hideous bone masks marauding them. "Looks like it's back to business as usual. Do you want to, or should I?"

Rukia sighed, but looked relieved anyway. "Let's both go. Maybe we'll actually have a chance at catching him once we clear these ones out."

The resulting fight was quick if predictable. Even with his energy drained twice in less than an hour, Ichigo's sword could cleave any of the attackers with a single swipe, and the same went for his old 'mentor'. Less than two minutes later Rukia raised her sword to banish the last of them, and frowned. "I don't sense him anymore. He must have had some method of escape."

"He'll be back", he said in confidence.

"Are you okay?"

Such concern! Their roles had been reversed. He wasn't sure if some of that niceness from the dream world had carried over, but then it _was_ a valid question. "Yeah, I'll be fine. He only leeched me for a few seconds each time, thanks to you."

"You're welcome. You'd think he'd try to drain someone a little stronger", she teased, carefully picking her way through the rubble and noticing the enemy's severed hand. "Any excuse for you to pig out once we get out of here, right?"

"You know it." Then he became serious again, knowing that if he did not ask now, asking among other friends would be even more uncomfortable. "Did _Kaien Shiba_ ever eat like that?"

She blinked in surprise, but then recognition dawned. "Oh. That. We'll discuss it later, I promise. It's humiliating enough for me to admit the Spirit Eater managed to do that in the first place. Like I was some neophyte with no resistance, no training..."

"Tired _and_ wounded in pride", he remarked without pressing her further. "Do you sense the others?"

"Hitsugaya-taicho's pretty hurt", she observed in mild alarm, concentrating to spread out her more refined senses even if they could not detect Spirit Eaters without a stolen power source. "The retrieval unit has arrived to heal the wounded. And Renji... he's so low he's either sleeping or almost dead."

"Let's hope it's the former", he replied grimly. _Damn it. _He hadn't considered that the rest of his friends might have been losing their battles while he'd been sleeping.

"There was a spike of energy I didn't recognize, but it's gone now. Can't sense Yoruichi-san, she's probably hiding her energy again... I don't sense any duplicates, so I think the battles are over."

"More good news. Let's go find them."

And hopefully, all three of the ones he'd come to rescue.

* * *

><p>The reunions were slow but heartfelt. One by one they would stumble upon a ruined chamber or hallway, followed by someone raising a hand and running over to them, glad to see another survivor of the battles which had destroyed the home of the Spirit Eaters.<p>

First came Orihime and the cadets who had gone with her to help carry Rutori Igenari's motionless body. Breaking from her attempts to heal the dark-haired soul reaper, she ran over into a joyous bear hug for Ichigo that reminded him of the hold Nel had once put him in. Thankfully, she wasn't as strong- having his bones crushed once was enough.

Noting the fancy blue dress gown she wore, he briefly considered yelling at her for the stupid move that had caused this mix-up in the first place, but then the girl produced a familiar white pentagon from her pocket- his Shinigami badge. "I kept it safe for you, Kurosaki-kun", she assured him tearfully. "Only Adre-sama knew of it. I'm so, so, so sorry for lying earlier, but she was going to take you!"

And drain his spirit energy, he craned his neck with a shudder. He'd be just like Igenari then, a living battery too weak to resist his tormentors, only barely aware that he was being slowly _eaten_. The man in question was still unconscious, most of his flesh a persistent ashen gray. Orihime's usual spells and 'rejections' had done little to remedy it. "Yeesh. Poor guy. Where's this 'Adre-sama' now?" _And why are you calling her 'master'? Isn't she the enemy?_

"Gone", she said bleakly. "But don't worry- she's my friend now. If I ask her not to hurt you anymore, she won't."

"Most impressive", Hakiza remarked, as if sensing Ichigo's anger toward her. "I don't know anyone in Soul Society who could have done that to one of the enemy. I suppose it's just as well that she impersonated one of us."

"Yeah", he shrugged back. Chewing her out for that stunt would wait. Possibly forever, since he always hated yelling at her for anything, even something that had put her in so much danger. "Just as well."

Next came Toshiro and the retrieval unit. This meeting was more curt, but he was glad to see the baby-faced captain had survived his battle. "Shihoin escaped", Hitsugaya said grouchily. "If you see her again, you may let her know I'll be organizing a search warrant for her. She has answers I want to hear."

This mix of friendliness and official snobbery left him at a loss for words, and Rukia simply led him aside to hear the whole story of how their battle had gone. "Good thinking with the retrieval team anyway. Where's Renji?"

"Right here."

It almost sounded like a new voice to his ears, and the person who stepped out of the dark hallway into the light like a stranger for a fraction of a second. Tatsuki Arisawa, her messy blue hair long enough now to drape down to the back of her neck and into her eyes, and her body even more muscular than regular. She would have to be, to carry Renji's motionless and gray-skinned body over the shoulder the way she was. A dark green zipper jacket and pants clashed with her hair, thicker than her school uniform.

"Tatsuki-chan!", Orihime exploded, breaking the silence. "Is that really... Tatsuki-chan?"

The girl blinked and smiled. "Yes Orihime, it's me. The jerks just didn't let me cut my hair. I'm glad to see you're all safe."

Moving past the predictable Chizuru-level hug from Inoue, Ichigo stared back at her with curious eyes, genuinely interested to see how his oldest friend had changed. "Tatsuki-san... You said 'all' of us. You can see us?"

She nodded anxiously. "Yeah. They were saying something about me having 'innate spiritual senses'. So I can all of you, now. Even when you turn into a Shinigami... Ichigo."

Feeling a bit like a broken record, he walked closer and put one hand on her brow to check the temperature and then her shoulder, confirming she was real. "When we get out of here I'll tell you everything. Including how sorry_ I_ am that I didn't tell you from the start, Tatsuki-san."

"What about him?", Hakiza pointed to her cargo, less trusting than the rest. "Lieutenant Abarai's energy has never been closer to zero."

"Yeah", Tatsuki nodded grimly, finally released from Inoue's grasp. "He came to rescue me. I suppose he did, but there was a Spirit Eater waiting for him. They fought, he just barely won. He saved me. I had to carry him back here."

Ichigo wasn't sure if the strange emotional distance Tatsuki was giving everyone was a part of her long captivity, or if she simply didn't feel comfortable around so many black-coated Shinigami yet. Seizing the chance, he tapped the badge in his hand.

Nothing happened, and Rukia chuckled behind him. "Brilliant move, except for the fact that your flesh body is still outside, in Kon's tender care. We'll find out what happened to it after we get out of here."

"I only hope he kept my clothes on this time", he groaned. "So does anyone happen to know the way out?"

"No need", Rukia said, looking around at the wreckage and brandishing her sword, _Sode no Shirayuki_. "This place looks about ready for the trash pile, but I can just generate a _Senkaimon_ gate and take us back home."

Toshiro did not express relief at this offer, but from the way his power was slipping Ichigo could tell he hadn't been looking forward to doing the deed himself. _Still so prideful after Yoruichi had to help him out in his fight. _No matter. This wasn't a contest of egos, at least not where he was concerned. "Go ahead. It's better than having to carry out everyone who can't fly right now."

Her sword seemed to split the very air apart as she carefully brought it down, opening into a tall gap of pinkish light guarded by doors similar to that of a traditional 'waiting room'. Naturally Tatsuki looked extremely shocked at this bizarre sight- Ichigo would always remember the first time_ he_ had seen such a gate being opened, the black _Jigokucho_ butterflies fluttering out of it to become their guide to the world of souls.

"I'll take Renji", Rukia volunteered briskly. "You can take Igenari. Everyone else stay close- the _Dangai'_s been worse than usual lately."

That was more for the humans than the Shinigami, but everyone heeded it. Instead of the foreboding corridor of darkness where Ichigo had actually been forced to train for a time, there was simply a path of light stretching forever onward, with the butterflies as guideposts that fled before the footsteps of the group.

"Ichigo", Tatsuki's voice came from behind him as she rushed to keep pace. "Where are we going now?"

With a shrug of surrender towards Toshiro, he turned to look back at her. "The world of the Shinigami. We'll be safe there, for now. I guess your 'hosts' told you all about them?"

"Yeah", she nodded, still nervous around so many strange beings but trying to be strong. She always did. "They're enemies of the Spirit Eater. Their sole mission is to kill every Shinigami."

"A foolish legacy from the period of human history which they called the 'Cold War'", Toshiro condemned it in irony, remembering well Matoba's words of contrition to him. "Which your uncle was involved in."

"I know", she admitted. "They said he's the one who got it started about forty-five years ago. Not anymore though."

"He helped us find you", Ichigo said, hoping to see her smile with pride that her relative would refuse to become involved in anything so monstrous. "He told us that when he realized how nasty the whole project was, he bailed out."

"I don't really remember him that well. He'd come to visit sometimes when I was a kid, but that's it. He never really tried to replace my parents or anything."

"Just as well", Ichigo remarked, trying to lighten the mood- if anything she looked even more scared. "He'd be the only person in Karakura town except my dad who smoked."

"We'll see him soon then", she noted, cheering up slightly. "Is he waiting for us there?"

"No, he's back with the team watching the gate at Naruki City." _If Kon hasn't gotten him arrested or something. _"But after this mission is over, they can pull out, right?"

"Indeed, Kurosaki", the captain confirmed stoically, drifting over to them. "Though it's obvious that not all of the Spirit Eaters fought us there and miss Jutani Zatsua remains at large, we have now deprived the enemy of their three hostages, of their 'food supply', of an underground headquarters which could not have been easy for them to build even back when they had the support of the Japanese government. They will never recover from this blow- it's only a matter of time until the rest of them are found and defeated."

"It's too easy". The thought came to his lips before he could stop it. "I don't like it. They _had_ to know that many wouldn't be able to stop us."

"Frigeld Han was no weakling, Kurosaki", Hitsugaya rebuked him. "And given the time it took for you and lady Rukia to finish, I very much doubt your chosen opponent was 'too easy' either."

_That_ was a solid point to the captain- the Spirit Eater had nearly trapped them both forever in a dream world, never to return. But inwardly, Ichigo could tell the white-haired Shinigami felt that same sense of uncertainty creeping into the elated thoughts of victory.

If nothing else, the two of them shared the combat experience to know that when a match was too easy... It meant you weren't looking hard enough at the rest of the board.

* * *

><p>Appearing in the confines of the 10th squad barracks, it was not long before the party was split once more.<p>

All the members of squad 10 not assigned to the mission were there to welcome the conquering heroes back with opens arms. As the rest watched, a recovered Rangiku Matsumoto forgot what little discipline she usually had, breaking through the crowd to grab Toshiro and hauled him into the air in an exhilarating embrace before he could push her away in irritation.

"I must give my report to the other captains", Toshiro said, bowing out once things had calmed down. "For now you may stay here. Collect yourselves."

"Wait!", Ichigo raised a hand. "What about my body?"

"Komamura-taicho is in charge of that. That will be all."

"Great." He knelt down, his head in his hands. Not that he disliked Sajin Komamura or anything, but the big guy was hard to communicate with sometimes. Fully committed to the title of 'warrior', the wolf Shinigami didn't really understand much of the human world like some of the other captains did. Ever since his best friend Kaname Tosen had gone traitor and then died in the Winter War, he avoided long-term friendships with anyone.

Once their wounded were seated in the infirmary ward, Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime and Tatsuki all followed the sound of a commotion back to the commons room. One of the cadets was on the floor, pointing at the intruder. "She... that... she was a cat just now!"

Following the pointing finger, he turned away the moment he saw the telltale swirl of purple hair, the others following him after. "Not the time, Yoruichi", he grumbled into the wall. "Toshiro said he wanted to talk to you, and you missed him."

"Exactly", the nude woman answered matter-of-factly, amused as ever by the way the cadets were freaking out at her body. "I wanted to dodge Hitsugaya for the time being. Him breathing down my neck wouldn't make this any easier... though it might make lieutenant Matsumoto jealous. That's something."

"Enough!", he demanded, refusing to look at her. Or to acknowledge how much of a substitute for Toshiro's no-nonsense attitude he was being made into. "I know perfectly well you've learned how to shapeshift clothes on, so freaking _do it_ already!"

"Feh. Spoilsport." One quick transformation later, they were again faced by the black cat they'd first met her as.

Behind him, Tatsuki looked appropriately confused. "Ooookayyy... maybe this 'Soul Society' of yours has different rules of modesty for women but still... weird!"

"Believe me, you haven't met the weird ones yet", Ichigo muttered under his breath. Yoruichi scratched his leg with one paw and he grunted.

"Fine way to say thank you for a job well done. Is there somewhere else you wanted to hear this, or...?"

"I'll sit this one out, thanks", Tatsuki shook her head, walking out the door. "Too much weirdness for me. I want to see if that red-haired guy is up yet so I can thank him."

"Now", Rukia sat down with the rest, waiting patiently. "The truth, lady Yoruichi. Why did you claim to be responsible for the existence of the Spirit Eaters?"

Kneeling down on on of the futons, the cat yawned wide and faced the three each in turn, feigning disinterest. "Matoba probably told you some of this already. He's a sucker for self-guilt over what he did, even if the real blame lies on my shoulders."

"You were the agent", Ichigo guessed, only feeling slightly ridiculous listening to a cat's confession of guilt. "You were the one assigned to prevent a war, who met Matoba."

"One of several", she acknowledged. "Using a _Gigai_, we could pass for humans and infiltrate the nuclear weapons development programs of each major country, do whatever we could to slow down development."

"But how?", Rukia asked politely. "You were gone for a hundred years. There's no way that could've been a mission sanctioned by the Soul Society."

"It wasn't", the cat said. "It was something that Urahara asked me to do, after he learned that the infiltrator sent earlier had been exposed and nearly killed by a Hollow- don't ask me how he found that out. It would be months before Soul Society could arrange for another agent with the right skills from the stealth division. By then, it might have already been too late."

The cat rolled over on the floor, and Ichigo realized she had chosen this form deliberately, to hide whatever guilt might have shown on her face. Cats did not have tear ducts. "Then I met Matoba Arisawa. He was unlike any of the stuffed-up Shinigami I'd met. He was so driven. He was so _alive... _But I digress that I was lonely. I hadn't seen any of my friends except Tessai and Urahara for over fifty years. That was my mistake, and one I've spent the last few decades trying to atone for."

"They tortured him", Rukia offered defensively, not wanting to accuse her superior. "You had no choice but to tell them."

"If I hadn't become friends with him I could have done it", she countered sternly. "If I hadn't been such an emotional fool I could have walked away and let him die, and our problems today wouldn't even exist."

"It's not just Matoba", Ichigo commented. "Jutani Zatsua's running the show now."

Yoruichi blinked her feline eyes. "Yes, I know. There were more than that actually. Her father, Genkinto Zatsua, was heading the research development team for a while. That's why I went back to stop him. That's how my _Gigai_ was there in the city when he had his... accident."

"A car crash", Rukia explained to the others seated near her. "Complete blind luck. Everyone in the Zatsua clan died there, except for young Jutani."

"And I was the one who performed _konso_ on their souls", the cat continued sadly. "All Pluses. No reason for me to hold a grudge against Genkinto, was there? He was just doing what he thought was right. I just didn't realize at the time... just how that might have looked to little Jutani trapped in the wreck of their car. She had just enough spiritual awareness to see me."

"Revenge", he realized with a sick lurch. "All this time, she's believed the Shinigami killed her family when you actually saved their souls. All of this, she did to get back at you."

"At all Shinigami", Yoruichi corrected quickly. "She must have found her father's notes, and learned that I was just one of thousands in the _Seritei_. Two mistakes on my part, which led us into today's situation."

The feline form could no longer quite mask her grief, and with the right look a cat could look very sad indeed. "I couldn't face it, Ichigo. Everyone in the stealth squad saw me as a Goddess, the good contrasting Urahara's supposed 'evil' when Aizen framed him. How could I go back there and say that I'd helped unleash an evil just as bad as the Visored? Worse, since Hirako Shinji and those others never actually became a threat after they were banished from Soul Society."

"So you kept silent", Ichigo observed, accusation creeping into his tone for the first time. "All this time, you only told Mr. Hat-and-Clogs that this had happened."

"Hurts, doesn't it?", she asked abrasively. "Even in your eyes, I was perfect until this moment. The legendary 'Flash Goddess'. The greatest assassin of my millennium. A respected noble who didn't look down on her subjects. An exile free of Soul Society's plodding bureaucracy. Byakuya's superior, a better teacher to you than Urahara's silly games... But no one who lives over two hundred is ever as clean as they seem on the surface, Ichigo. Stick around long enough, and even you can make some mistakes that you'll be regret 'till the end of time."

He stood, staring down at the small animal his old mentor had turned into. "I already have made those. Now if you'll excuse me Yoruichi-san, I'm going to correct one of them now."

And he walked out without another word.

* * *

><p>AN: As confessed in my profile, I'm realizing more and more I've started making the mistake a number of the show's arcs have and focused too much on the grim and gruesome. That's not all Bleach is- there's lots of great humour too.

In this chapter and the next I hope to slide away from the action a bit and indulge in a bit more comedy and dialogue, or at least try to before things get serious again. A lot of Bleach comedy doesn't really carry over well into written form, or maybe I just suck at writing good jokes. Whatever, please read and review folks.


	14. Part 14: Here To Stay

_14: Here To Stay_

* * *

><p>Hitsugaya did not see the stigma he had spoken of among the faces of the 13 Court Guard Squad captains in the meeting hall. It was simply there, and in this case it was justified.<p>

Many of them were actually absent, minding their positions just as he'd known they should. Kenpachi Zaraki of Squad 11 had left one of his own squad to act as his representative here, as had Unohana and Komamura. As usual Mayuri Kurotsuchi was absent, a blessing given the contempt some of the others had for him. Instead he faced Genryusai and Ukitake, the ones most interested in what he had to say by the look in their eyes.

"I have come to report our mission a success", he spoke quietly and bowed, unsure if there was some procedure he'd forgotten. "All of the enemy's hostages were liberated, their guardians killed and their base left useless."

"Excellent work!", Ukitake was the first to speak up, eye wide behind swweeping curtains of the same hair u as Hitsugaya. "Well done, 'Shiro-chan!"

He raised one hand to stem the praise he knew the friendliest captain would eagerly give him. "I have contained all those involved in my squad barracks for the time being, though I would appreciate if any free Shinigami with healing talents come and pay us a visit. In particular, Rutori Igenari has shown little signs of recovery, or regaining his lost energy, and many of our own were badly injured."

"Lieutenant Abarai", Byakuya Kuchiki stated coldly to a stunned audience. He shrugged. "He did not return nor follow you here as he is wont to do. He also possesses a talent for rushing into opponents far out of his league."

"He was drained by a Spirit Eater, nearly as badly as Igenari", Hitsugaya admitted, still bowed. "I estimate he should awaken within the next few days. On that note, I claim full responsibility for the two casualties we suffered during the battle, cadets Wotan Murasaki and Nilora Haken."

None of them reacted badly to that. Veteran fighters one and all, they knew that some losses were inevitable against an unknown opponent. As the recent conflicts had pitted them against powerful new foes from every corner, the attrition rate of cadets was tragic if not entirely unexpected.

"Full responsibility huh", Kyoraku Shunsui noted as if telling a joke's punch line, pulling his hat down over his brow. "They take no responsibility for getting themselves killed, do they?"

"They followed everything I had taught them", Toshiro countered defensively. "They simply weren't fast enough to avoid being encased in diamonds, then shattered by the enemy's main enforcer, Frigeld Han."

"Some responsibility_ is_ yours then, Toshiro Hitsugaya", Genryusai spoke up in his deep voice. "For allowing cadets to engage with what you say was the enemy's 'main enforcer'. Remember the Winter War. The order of battle exists for a reason."

"Yes, Taicho", he confirmed, immediately feeling strange at the absurdity of it. He was _glad_ that Soul Society's most respected and feared warrior had decided to tear into him? "On account of that fact and a few others... I am respectfully resigning my position as captain of squad 10."

_That_ drew some odd stares. As expected, Junshiro Ukitake looked mortified, and he was the first to stand and speak. "'Shiro-chan, please. It was your first squad mission to the world of the living, without your lieutenant's services, against an enemy we knew very little about. I know how you feel- I'll always remember how I felt when Kaien Shiba died, or when any of our people fall against Hollows and their ilk. But you _deserve_ your post- you've only ever shown discipline and dedication to-"

"I lost control", he cut in, unable to bear his friend's kind words any longer, casting a regretful gaze to the star-shaped hilt of his weapon. "When my comrades fell in battle, I... I went berserk. My _Zanpakuto_ and I became one. We became the _Hyorinryuu- _the_ '_Frozen Full Moon Dragon'. If any humans had been near us during that time..."

He'd silenced Ukitake for the moment with that outburst. Even he could tell what might have happened, how many people might have died if the raging power of the _Hyorinryuu_ had not been stopped. _And by the enemy at that!_ The Spirit Eater had prevented a unmitigated disaster from befalling the people of Naruki City, even if he hadn't been aware of it.

Instead Genryusai Yamamoto stood, wrinkled eyes firm and unforgiving. "Emotional discipline is one of the cornerstones of a Shinigami's development. I would have expected better from a captain, particularly the chosen bearer of the legendary _Hyorinmaru_. Had your opponent been more skilled, they could easily have used your rage against you. Or as you said, simply allowed it to destroy the entire city"

"I'm sorry" he said, and truly meant it. "When I saw him hurting the others, I just..."

"Reacted with unthinking anger", the head captain finished. "It is never easy even for beings such as we to bear the loss of a friend, and the desire to avenge them is completely natural. Training helps us to temper those urges, so as not to leave us vulnerable to such manipulation by a canny foe."

The image of Sojiro Kusaka's face flashed across his mind's eye for only a moment, and he lowered his head so as not to look at Genryusai directly. _We're not _robots_, you stupid old...!_

"However", Yamamoto went on mercilessly. "We also must consider that no such damage actually occurred. High risks _are_ an inherent part of our duty. Therefore in light of these revelations, I order that captain Hitsugaya merely be temporarily suspended from duty to undergo remedial training, so as to help him better control the _Hyorinryu_ should it awaken again."

A light sentence, considering his judge. "And if I refuse?"

The old man's eyes barely twinkled. "Resignation from your squad has always been your choice to make, captain Hitsugaya. However I can already tell that Ukitake here shall not be the only one who would try to turn you away from that path. By the rules of Soul Society, once you leave of your own will, you can never return to us. And you shall be the one to face the consequences your lack of fortitude produce in the future, if any."

Clear as mud, as usual. Toshiro fumed, but saw the others watching him and knew the old man was right this time. "Then I shall accept this 'remedial training' Taicho, for however long it takes to reach the standards of control required."

"I had thought you might", Yamamoto nodded, seemingly oblivious to Ukitake's look of happiness that his friend wasn't leaving them after all. "I shall ask Samora Shihoin to take charge of your training, though of course you may continue to use the 10th squad barracks for lodgings as you see fit."

Toshiro closed his eyes. He'd brought this himself, and though his rush of elation should have been shameful he could not deny how good it felt. "Enough of my personal troubles", he requested once things had died down. "What news of the enemy? Have they attempted to breach one of the gates?"

"Nothing yet", Shunsui offered cheerfully, raising a cup of tea in a toast to their youngest captain. "We've got top-level Shinigami watching each one, and messengers ready as well. If they try something, we'll know."

"In the meantime, I have dispatched the stealth division to locate Jutani Zatsua", their leader said, indicating Soifon's empty seat. "As we speak, they continue to search Naruki City for the human behind all this chaos. It is only a matter of time..."

* * *

><p>Toshiro returned the following night, but by then Yoruichi had run off once more. Exasperated by her game of tag, he settled on letting Rukia relay the important details of her story to him, though it was clear none of it really applied to the Court Guard Squads' current plan of action.<p>

"We wait", he expressed in disappointment. "They figure the enemy will have no choice but to attack the _Senakimon_ at Naruki, which is why they've sent Komamura's squad through to reinforce it. Oh... and Sado Yasutora requested to be returned here. He should arrive by tomorrow."

A small comfort. Ichigo shared the captain's distaste for waiting for the Spirit Eaters to make the next move, but didn't argue. "And Uryu?"

"He... departed after Narahama healed him", Toshiro reported. "Still so reluctant to associate with us any longer than needed."

He shrugged helplessly. "If that's Uryu's choice. I just hope he understands that this isn't done just yet. If he wanders back into Naruki, he's a walking food source for them."

"I doubt he would do anything so horribly foolish." Taking a moment to set his study back in order, he leaned over and stared at Ichigo. "There was one more thing I mentioned at the meeting that didn't add up. Perhaps you could shed some light on it."

He nodded back, confused. "Huh?"

"The motive. Not Zatsua's, but the small-term. Several of the captains at the council had a hard time believing that the Spirit Eaters did all of this just to lure_ you_ into a trap, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Thinking back to the start of his journey, he realized that the captain was right. Demalza Sanhas's words to him came to mind, but it still seemed like an awful lot of trouble to go through just to get him to stand down, even if he was better known every day as the substitute Shinigami who had single-handedly beaten Sosuke Aizen.

More importantly, how could they have known that he was friends with Tatsuki and not known how he would react to that? "More likely they wanted to drain my _reiatsu_", he reasoned. "They figured I'd be a much better power source than Rutori, who hasn't achieved _Bankai_ yet. That Reeve creep has drained me four times now."

"Yes, lady Rukia told me of that", Toshiro acknowledged blithely. "But she also said that his actions were those of an independent, a renegade who's developed an obsession with you for some reason. Matoba made it very clear that they didn't want you and your friends learning of them. They'd operated in secret up until then, why change tactics when it was working perfectly?"

"We're not dealing with a rational mind here", he reminded the captain soberly. "Zatsua won't rest until her 'mission' is achieved. Maybe this was just her way of taunting us now that she thinks she has enough powerful Spirit Eaters to take the Soul Society on."

Toshiro arched his white brow, bemused. "If that is the case, then she is sorely mistaken. No enemy can defeat the 13 Court Guard Squads. Certainly not one who numbers less than twenty individuals. But for now Kurosaki Ichigo, we must follow orders. I am sorry that I cannot promise you a time when you will be given clearance to return home to Karakura Town, only that it shall be as soon as I can make it."

"Thanks", he said gratefully. "Oh yeah, one more thing- did Rukia tell you about the under-levels, the _Fallos_?"

"She did. I've already put in a request for a mission to the ruins of the lab if the Naruki authorities fail to detect them. Hopefully those people can survive long enough for us to get there and save them."

He nodded. That was really the best he could expect. Exactly how the _Fallos_ would return to a normal human life after what they'd gone through wasn't something he could help directly. "I'll go talk to Tatsuki-chan about the motive. Maybe she knows something."

But his oldest friend proved frustratingly evasive during dinner in the grand hall. She would change the conversation in the blink of an eye, or show that her mouth was full of ramen or vegetables so that she could not reply. He might have risked pressing her further, bad manners be damned, but it was around then that a Shinigami he had never seen before threw open the grand hall doors, stunning the gathered squad into silence.

Uncommonly thin and tall, he bore the _haori_ of the Soul Society's noble families with practised dignity, though gray with woven gold accents instead of the black and white Ichigo was used to seeing on Byakuya Kuchiki. With chocolate brown hair tied back it wasn't hard to spot the fancy-looking rings along the sides of his brown-skinned scalp, four to each side that shuffled slightly as he walked.

His face was a contradiction. One moment he'd been grim and serious as the aforementioned captain who shared his fashion sense, the next he burst into wild laughter at the sight of the confused faces around him. "Ah. Should I just... go back whence I came then?"

"No need for modesty, Lord Samora Shihoin", Rukia called from her spot at the table, causing his big-lipped smile to grow all the wider. "I'm sure the 10th squad would be honoured to dine with a noble."

"Two nobles", he corrected, sidling in beside her carefully. Searching the table, his eyes lit up. "And this must be the great Mondego Kurosaki, hero of the Winter War."

Ichigo wasn't quite sure if this guy was for real or hired to do a bad impression of stuffed-up nobility. _Come to think of it, the Seritei has no comedians I'm aware of. Shame, I could use a way to take the load off about now. _"That's _Ichigo_ Kurosaki, mister. And I don't recall Hitsugaya inviting you."

He'd provoked a number of squad 10 to stare at him for the outburst. He didn't care, and apparently neither did Samora. "My apologies. Lady Rukia here has always spoken highly of your dedication and skill, if not your manners."

"Oh really?" He slid in closer, no longer caring if he got stains on his robes. The look on the girl's face was worth it. "Just what did she say, huh?"

"She said you're the man who performs the impossible", Samora said simply. "And that you have no taste for art, but I find that entirely subjective."

He could feel some of his initial hostility bleeding off, just from the way Rukia looked like she wanted to punch him, but wouldn't do so with Samora in the room. "I brought Sake from my family's cellar", the noble offered, gesturing to the wagon outside which had brought him here. "The lieutenant of this barracks specifically requested it, despite having my collection of fine wines at the ready."

"Even better. So... was there any particular reason you decided to stop by and let us drink your alchohol, Samora-chan?"

"A few things. I've been asked by Yamamoto to give remedial training to Toshiro Hitsugaya before he returns to commanding the 10th."

The small captain refused to respond to this, and would not answer any questions his unit posed to him. "Secondly, I had hoped to come by and spend some quality time with my fiancee."

Ichigo spat out his drink all over the man's robes. The action had been reflexive, unavoidable- there was only one person in the room who could have fit his description. "R... Rukia?"

Rukia plainly looked like she wanted to go jump off a cliff, but also somewhat relieved. "It was decided about two months ago, Ichigo. We're of similar age, and this can help to bring back the respect the Kuchikis lost when I was sentenced to death."

"Okay, but.. why?"

_Now_ she hit him. Samora rose to stop her, but she was too quick, knocking back over his seat and onto the floor. "Dear Rukia is gentle like a summer breeze most of the time", he noted apologetically. "But violent like a roaring hurricane if you anger her. I'm certain she didn't mean you any harm, sir Kurosaki."

"Then you don't know her very well at all", the boy laughed through the pain as he got back up, seeing Rukia in a huff. "So I'll ask you instead... why?"

The nobleman shrugged, unsure how to explain it. "Would you rather I be Marechiyo Omaeda? Arranged marriages have been common among the four noble clans for centuries. To qualify for it, I had to prove my worth to her brother, the head of the Kuchiki clan. You've met him?"

"Yeah. I have." Even by the largest stretch of imagination, he could not picture Byakuya Kuchiki ever approving of this buffoon to marry Rukia. "And he said yes?"

The man paled, scratching at his rings. "Ah, well... you see. There is yet one last condition he has set which I must fulfil before we can be properly wed. I must prove myself on the battlefield to his satisfaction. 'Only a strong man can be trusted to safeguard what is the most precious to me'. That is what he said." Taking a large sip and forcing it down, he gave a merry grin. "It's very fortunate that he did not ask that her future husband be able to defeat _him_ in battle or she would _never_ be married, don't you agree, Winnebago?"

He said nothing to that, knowing the irony of the joke would be lost on everyone else. "It's Ichigo."

"Of course it is. The rest of the trials were difficult, don't get me wrong. I was the only one to pass them. But now I must have my blades taste the blood of Soul Society's enemies to earn his approval, and sadly an enemy of suitable stature has not yet appeared as of late. Garden-variety Hollows will hardly impress the 'Flash-God', yes?"

Hearing him, Ichigo glanced down to spot the man's _Zanpakuto _for the first time, a shaft of wood on his belt that looked closer to a double-headed spear. _The Shikai looks pretty awkward to use. Has this guy even fought Hollows before? _He could not recall seeing him at all in the Winter War, or even during the Bount Crisis. "Well... Good luck with that, Salmonella. I know he's not an easy one to impress."

Having had enough of their posturing- or the hurt look on his face, Rukia stomped off to head up to her bedroom for the night. Far from being discouraged, Samora sat back down and took a morose bite of vegetable before drawing closer so that only he could hear. "I don't wish to pry, but I must confess to the curse of being one of the brighter ones in my clan. Everyone assumes the greater nuances of social interaction fly over my head like cawing seagulls at the beach, yes? But I swear to you, sir Kurosaki, that is not the case."

"Huh? If you've got something to say, spit it out already?"

The man chuckled. "Direct. I approve. But I can also recognize your longing for lady Rukia- it reflects my own, like a distorted piece of glass. You two have been friends a long time. Longer than me. It is only natural for you to be attracted to her, particularly one of her beauty and grace." He stopped to tap one of the left rings on his head as if in remembrance of the woman he cherished. "Reality can be cruel, yes? Had I not risen to the challenge set by her brother, another Shinigami noble would have. So for what it is worth, I must apologize to you again."

Understanding at last, he fell back. Of course. Samora was just trying to soften the blow. Unsuccessfully. Even if he'd been a full-fledged Shinigami, he would still be a 'commoner', still out of reach even if he endeavoured to take on Byakuya's 'tests'.

It was the first time he had ever really recognized the distinction, the way that Soul Society had four noble families like the feudal societies of old. Every time before he'd managed to ignore them and their traditions. Nobles were just people after all, if a bit more important to things like governing and conspiracies.

But he'd never noticed the gap between them until now. One no amount of sword-slinging could get him over. "Your face tells it all", the clown noted gently. "Rest assured you shall always have a special place in her heart. I am certain of it."

He blinked, as if waking from a dream. "Well, I'm... heh. I'm really not sure what you mean! Beautiful? She's not that pretty, and her breasts are so small!"

The noble paused, not sure how to handle that. Which was good because Ichigo honestly couldn't tell either. The words just tumbled forth, anything to get his mind off the hurt. He couldn't blame the alchohol's affect on him. Not entirely. "Sure, you can have her! Just make sure you get some Chappy the Rabbit merchandise for your house, okay? That's her favourite. Who'd want such a mean girl anyway?"

Exasperated, Samora lowered his cup and waved a hand before him. "I should've brought the wines. No matter what the lieutenant said, this stuff is far too strong for mere socializing, yes?"

He departed as well, leaving Ichigo with only the hanging recollection of the things he'd just said. Desperate for better company, he turned to see Tatsuki gone, and Orihime watching him with concern unblunted by the drink.

"Inoueee", he mumbled weakly. The stuff really _was _beginning to hit him- everything was fuzzy. "T-tell me that you don't... you don't have some dark secret you've been keepin' from me too."

Of course she didn't. She merely looked at him with sad eyes, knowing perfectly well what he'd just endured. Somehow, it was even more heart-wrenching than having to slay something that looked and sounded exactly like his mother. "Kurosaki-kun. You're... odd."

He laughed at her honesty, which only deepened her concern. "I love you too. Love you... all..."

_Sake_, he lamented with what little rationality he had left. _No wonder. _Of course most of the Shinigami had stronger constitutions than a boy who had only recently gone past the legal age. They could drink far more than humans, ingest entire bottles of wine before feeling the effects.

Just one more difference between himself and Rukia that he felt his mouth cursing before falling face-first into his dinner plate.

* * *

><p>Samora found her at the rail on the upper floor of the barracks, staring off into the distance. Rain hammered down outside. The moon was nowhere to be seen for once, and his fiancee was clearly trying to clear her head of the confusion which had built up. As such, the skinny nobleman kept his distance until the time seemed appropriate to come forward.<p>

"Took it hard, didn't he?", Rukia asked the moment he showed up. "_Baka_. To entertain thoughts that we could be together, even if Nii-san permitted it..."

"Better than you might think, Lady Rukia", he said respectfully. "He'll wake up tomorrow with a hangover. Though I do hope he does not distance himself from you because of it, yes? He's a very fine young man, for a human."

"It's better this way", she went on heedlessly. "If he kept faith to me, he'd push away any number of human girls who like him. I've seen them in his school. He's very popular, but doesn't seem to care."

"To be admired by so many and yet wish for only one, like a treasure hunter searching through a vault for one specific ruby precious to him..." He could tell from the sudden chill in her body that the analogy wasn't appreciated. "Apologies. I should speak more reverently of the saviour of Soul Society."

"I suppose he is", she conceded with a forlorn sigh. "Not that the captains would admit to it. And he wouldn't take credit. He just wanted to stop Aizen."

Neither had to affirm how they felt for each other, any more than her feelings for Kurosaki were something to be shouted to the world. The nobleman was a friend, that was all. Not love. A political union, though neither would be subject to the other despite Samora's greater 'standing' in the eyes of the other families.

It wasn't fair, to her or Ichigo, but whoever said the afterlife was fair?

Drawing closer, he carefully placed both hands on her small shoulders. "We've been through all that. So it isn't merely the union in a week's time which is bothering you, yes?"

She thought for a moment, reaching for a memory that seemed strangely old before withdrawing a strange egg-shaped device from her pocket. "The sensor Tatsuki's uncle gave us", she explained. "When we first got there, it picked up six Spirit Eaters, not including the _Fallos_. I talked to Hitsugaya. We ran into and fought Frigeld Han, Adre Gryuryana, Barton Eishinshi, and Nogrand Juno. That's only four."

"Two Spirit Eaters with functioning brains?", he suggested idly. "Two who remained in hiding during the fighting, knowing they were outmatched?"

Unconvinced, she held up the scanner again and soured at the jumbled mess the screen had become. "Of course human devices like that don't work here. I guess I'll have to be the one to lobby for Matoba's exoneration now."

"Your brother will want to see you", Samora nodded, releasing her shoulders. "He doesn't believe this Spirit Eater problem to be a serious threat. They are humans, still."

"Yes. They're mostly human", she agreed, tucking the sensor back into her pocket. _Human hybrids. Like Ichigo..._ "That's what worries me."

Smiling, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry overlong, lady Rukia. You won't be able to sleep, yes?"

She felt a long way from being cheered up. But the nobleman _was_ right. Fretting about all the things she couldn't change was useless, not to mention mentally exhausting. She smiled back. "Actually, sleep sounds pretty good about now. I'll take this thing to the R&D division tomorrow."

* * *

><p>It was almost<em> time<em>. Jutani Zatsua could feel the anticipation building up within her, a welcome reminder that a lifetime devoted to revenge had not killed _all_ of her positive emotions just yet.

The shelter they'd taken over was a tenement slum, and already the assembled numbers of Spirit Eaters were chafing in such cramped spaces. Not a good idea with powers like theirs, especially now that the demise of their chief disciplinarian had been confirmed.

_Frigeld_, she mused unhappily. None of the others had been as close to her, and none so devoted to her cause. The heartache of his loss was another such reminder, though not as pleasant.

Adre was crying again, and Krieg Tsubaku did not have the experience to get her to stop. Everyone was getting hungry for more spirit energy. In the room above, Demalza Sanhas bickered with the other Spirit Eater women, arguing over some point of modesty like a dog with a bone. Hyn Alumirr was stalking the corridors yelling for whoever had stolen his weapon to come forward. Had Nogrand Juno not been out on his important mission, it would have been impossible to fit everyone in here.

The time would come soon, Zatsua told herself sternly. Soon, everything would be better. Soon, the reason for their existence would come and they could stop getting on each other's nerves.

One small blessing was the seeming paralysis of their chief troublemaker, Reeve Pastell. Instead of joining the fracas, he sat in a chair with an uncharacteristic glower. Zatsua noticed that he had dyed his hair orange, but thought no more of it. Perhaps the recent battle experience and maiming had finally gotten him up to the proper emotional age.

All the same, the doctor wouldn't trust him with the other crucial task at hand. Not when he had a tendency to take whatever metal object he was given and melt it down into another weapon, or shoot blasts of fire at birds just for kicks.

For that, he turned to the single _Fallos_ in their midst. He didn't have a proper name or even many defining features besides a chestnut beard, but that wasn't important. What was important was Barton Eishinshi had recommended him for his loyalty and reliability. Despite lacking a useful _Ianzamento_, he was capable and willing to help. For his role, Zatsua named him _Verdade_.

"You've tested it?", she tried asking him over the din.

Nodding, the plain man brandished a modern video camera which only hours ago had lain unused in an electronics shop. "I checked. It works, but I'll test it again once we're in Soul Society just to be absolutely sure."

"Excellent." Now even if the Shinigami proved to be many times stronger than her projections, if everything else possible went bad and they all died there, the mission would _still_ be accomplished. Just a little later and bloodier than she had wanted.

"Assuming we ever get there", Verdade dared to suggest. "It's night now. Barton-sama said that they have the same day and night cycle as we do, right?"

He'd struck doubts she would have preferred to keep to herself, and she wheeled on him with the usual wrath, removing her mirrored glasses to let her full fury burn him. "Number one _will_ succeed. They know just how much depends on it."

"They?"

Another secret she had not wished to share so easily. But she smiled anyway, helping the man up from where he'd fallen. "Insurance. But I must still have faith- the Shinigami have given number one nothing but scorn and mistrust, like they have all humans. We have shown that _we_ are different, trusting them with something so crucial."

It occurred to her that speaking of trust and scorn wasn't something likely to go over well with a _Fallos. _He only shrugged at the comment, checking the camera for signs of scuffing when he'd fallen over. "They must truly be bad, for you to go to such lengths to destroy them."

"They are", she said insistently. "I promise you. The people have to know. They have to accept that we've been secretly controlled by the invisible hand of the soul reapers for thousands of years. If all goes well, we'll end their reign in just a few more _days_."

"For_ that_ cause, doctor", Verdade noted dryly, "I shall gladly suffer."

"I as well", Zatsua agreed, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you. Here on the eve of my final triumph... Even_ I_ must admit that my nerves are shot." Almost time. Almost_ time_...!

"We're all on the edge", Verdade observed, with a nod to the shouting and complaints around them. "We're being hunted, and we're hungry. You're certain bringing the princess is a good idea?"

"We have no choice. I'm not leaving her here to be taken by the Shinigami assassins." That was why it was crucial that none of them use any of the _reiatsu_ stored in their bodies just yet. It would bring down the stealth division, who had been sighted throughout the city looking for some sign of a Spirit Eater. They might yet win an all-out battle against Soifon's people, but it would be very costly and buy the Shinigami more time to figure out how they were being tricked.

"You _do_ care", he sounded amazed. "My comrades always believed you to be a heartless monster for doing this to us."

"Oh, I have a heart", she affirmed, returning the glasses to her eyes and staring out across the slums. From here, you could almost see the street where her life had changed forever. "A_ human_ heart capable of feeling great pains no pathetic soul reaper has ever endured in their centuries of life. It's almost time now. Once number one's task is complete... then the Soul Society will learn exactly what that means, before they die."

* * *

><p>AN: OC time. Hopefully Samora Shihoin comes across as whimsical rather than annoying. Aside from a few Spirit Eaters, he'll also be the last new character introduced.<p> 


	15. Part 15: Treachery

Part 15: _Treachery (I can tell that you've never been true to me...)_

* * *

><p>Ichigo had been sick before. Not often, given that his family ran a clinic and had access to some great home remedies for whatever illness might drift their way in tiny Karakura, but occasionally during flu season it did happen and it always made him feel uncomfortably lazy having to rest so much because of a stupid disease.<p>

Which was why he knew this feeling which had gotten him out of bed in the middle of the night had nothing to do with the need to throw up. He stepped forward, black Shinigami robes clinging to his backside from sweat. He'd been given a room on the 2nd floor to recuperate, a small one belonging to one of the Shinigami cadets who had died in the battle at Naruki City.

He felt himself wandering, poking out into the empty hallway as if to sniff the air. _Not good, _his instincts told him. _Bad dreams. Death dreams. Darkness coming. _He couldn't explain this feeling, and mildly hoped he wouldn't bump into someone patrolling.

The sound of the rain beckoned him to a window, where it continued as if he'd never left the party. He was merely watching it, understanding to a point what made the Soul Society's feudal style architecture that much more relaxing than Naruki City's towers of glass and metal when he saw something out the window that made relaxation impossible.

Tatsuki Arisawa, standing in the rain on the balcony. Her blue hair dangled messily down past a frightened look on her face, and Ichigo knew why it was he had awakened.

She didn't respond as he stepped out the balcony with her, instead staring up into the dark sky as if looking for instruction. "Tatsuki-chan. You shouldn't be out here without a coat, you'll catch cold."

"Just like our world, eh?", she replied without turning, though he was glad to see some of her usual cynicism back after all she'd been through. "This world... it looks so much like ours, doesn't it?"

He joined her at the railing, feeling the rain's pressure begin to abate. "Yeah. But it's not really healthy for humans to stay here for too long. The concentration of _reishi_- spirit particles- is way too high."

"Lucky you."

He _was_ lucky, he supposed. He wasn't some touchy-feely tree-hugging kind of guy, but anyone with a brain could appreciate the serenity of a world lacking 300 years of industrial development. Fresh air and water and plants untouched by pollutants or pesticides. Reaching over, he removed his black Shinigami coat and draped it over her shaking shoulders. Leaving him with just the white shirt and pants, but it wasn't that cold. Just wet. "I guess now's a good time. I was distracted before. I'm sorry, Tatsuki-chan. For everything."

She looked about to say something, but cut herself off a few times before deciding. "Accepted, Kurosaki-kun. I'll punch you later. Right now, I just want to enjoy this a little bit longer."

"I deserve it", he acknowledged. "You tried everything you could and I still didn't tell you the truth. About Soul Society. About me. I could say I did it to protect you... but no. That's wrong. When have you ever needed someone else to protect you? When you beat me up at the dojo?"

"Your fault", she said with a warm chuckle. "You let your guard down. But I'm sorry for making you cry, Ichigo."

"I know you've always hated being protected. I guess... I guess what I really wanted was to keep this to myself. Keep it a special secret between me, and Inoue, and Chad. Stupid of me, huh?"

"No", she shook her head, sending raindrops flying. "I understand why. Shinigami and Hollows, either one of them could kill me if I got involved. I don't have an overconfidence problem Ichigo; I'm only a lowly human after all. I know those things would beat me easily." The last of this was said with an unmissable bitterness.

"Not easily", he joked, remembering well her first encounter with a Hollow, Acidwire, who back then she had not been able to see at all. And now she could. Was it his fault? He was no ordinary soul reaper. Was his presence somehow responsible for bringing out his friend's latent spiritual senses and powers, or was it Karakura Town itself which caused it?

"It's stopped raining", she observed quietly, body tensing up. "I wish... I wish I could stay here a little longer. I wish we could stay like this forever. I'm sorry, Ichigo."

He frowned. That didn't make sense. "Huh?"

The blow came from nowhere. It took him in the gut like a lightning strike, crushing tendons and bones beneath the undershirt and skin. He'd nearly gotten used to it, the way his vision grayed out, the way time seemed to slow down whenever he'd drawn blood or been seriously wounded, and now things were slow enough for him to see the mouthful of blood he'd expelled falling away... and the searing pain in Tatsuki's wide eyes.

His spine struck the back wall, immediately fighting to get up, to demand an explanation. Tatsuki merely climbed up onto the balcony railing, looking back at him with the same tearful, passionate eyes she'd had when she'd _begged_ him to tell her the truth about why he was already cutting classes. "Please go home, Ichigo. Get Orihime and Chad and Uryu, and go back home to Karakura Town- it's not going to be safe here much longer."

Cough. "Y-you...", he stammered. _Weak._ _Vision hazy. How did she...?_

"Go", she pleaded one last time. "This time, it's my turn to save you from the bad guys."

"T-Tatsuki-chan... how... did...?" Cough.

She did not need words too understand his confusion. Too much had happened too quickly, and she spread both arm out, Ichigo's coat still hanging onto them. "_Ingenium Devora_. Now I'm Number One."

Spreadeagled she fell, quickly flipping vertically and speeding off along the rooftops at a speed she would never have managed as a human. Ichigo rose and ran to the rail, but it wasn't long before the haziness enclosed him and he knew his sick feeling had only just begun.

* * *

><p>Rukia was the first to recover. Lacking the powerful voice of some of the males, she settled for rushing around, sounding every chime in the barracks until everyone was up. Only Ichigo had missed out on the alert, the reason for which became clear when she found him on the balcony.<p>

"We've been had", she emphasized to each of the sleepy soul reapers, trying her hardest to let her voice be heard over the complaints. Thankfully, Toshiro and Samora already looked completely awake. "Thirty minutes ago, Tatsuki Arisawa snuck into my bedroom."

She was enraged to see Hakiza chuckle at that. "Humans, huh? I didn't know she swung that-"

She hit him, and in the process revealed a sizable patch of flesh on her punching arm that had gone gray. Dead gray. "She DRAINED me, you idiot! Don't you see? She's the infiltrator!"

Now she had the captain's full attention. "She's using just enough of your stolen energy to run away at a fast pace", he noted calmly after taking a second to extend his senses. "But I can tell. She's running south across the rooftops, away from the _Rukongai_. She'll clear the borders within a few minutes."

No longer caring if Samora was watching, Rukia indulged in a few words unsuitable for nobility. "Can we stop her?"

Toshiro merely nodded to Hakiza and Narahama and both took off. "I doubt if they can catch her in time, but if they're lucky they may be able to alert someone who can." Clearly suppressing frustration of his own, the captain sat. "If what you say is true, then we must stop her. Can you tell if she gained _that_ knowledge, lady Rukia?"

Impossible to tell, but it made perfect sense that Tatsuki had not let go of her arm until a certain, unidentifiable point instead of draining enough to kill her. They couldn't have been like that for more than a minute, paralysed as her energy fell away and made her attacker stronger with every second.

"I think she has it, Taicho. She must have copied my knowledge of how to create a _Senkaimon_ gate. She knew that _I _could create one because she saw me do it yesterday."

This was moving too fast for their sleepier allies to follow, but Toshiro and her fiancee both looked at each other with great alarm. "That's their plan, then. All of this might have been a setup, tricking us into bringing a Spirit Eater to our world. So she could invite the rest of her allies here."

"I'll hurry and alert the other squads", Samora volunteered. "If what you say is truth, we may be facing an attack as early as the morning, yes?"

"Go to squads 11 and 13", Toshiro ordered him as the tall man ran to the door as well. "Most of the others are guarding the natural gates. They're scattered, they don't realize the danger is much closer. We must rally!"

The captain continued barking orders to the rest, leaving Rukia to face Ichigo's dazed body, though Narahama had been helping him stand before her departure. All the sympathy she'd had for Ichigo regarding Samora was now dwarfed by what had just occurred, and she fought the irrational urge to hug him.

She hadn't known Tatsuki as long- she was Ichigo's oldest friend after all. But she could certainly put the pieces together, as though the adrenaline and panic had supercharged her brain. "That's what Matoba was keeping from us. It's why he left. He didn't want his niece to be one of the ones experimented on."

"Impossible" was all he could think to say, eyes wide with the shock. "Impossible. It's impossible. Tatsuki-chan would never betray us. Someone has to be controlling her. Has to be."

There was no evidence at all to support that, but she was not so cruel as to argue. "I'll mention that to the captains once they're assembled."

For now, that was all she could promise. What she wished she could have promised him was something more like 'you won't have to face Tatsuki in battle' or 'no one's going to hurt her', or 'she's not actually a Spirit Dreamer'.

Or even 'it's a nightmare. Everything will be alright in the end'.

* * *

><p>Tatsuki Arisawa hated herself for glorying in the fun of being able to leap such fabulous distances. It was a long time dream of hers to be sure, but the memory of the stunned look in her oldest friend's eyes kept her focused on the task at hand.<p>

It had to be done, she told herself firmly as countless early-riser Shinigami citizens passed beneath her, some of the kids pointing up at the figure gliding swiftly past them. The longer she delayed, the more likely it was that she would fail in her task. She hated failing at anything, and this might well have been the most important job anyone had ever given her.

That, among other things, was the defining contrast between the Shinigami and her new friends. They had been brutally honest with her from the start, telling her the full, complete truth of the Spirit Eater project no matter how much she had screamed and raged in denial of it until flawless proof had presented itself to her. She _was_ a Spirit Eater. She had been 'adjusted' from her mother's womb with enhanced abilities to defeat the Shinigami if ever they became a threat to human society.

The Shinigami, who shrouded all they did in secrecy. Who could erase people's memories of an event whenever they saw fit. Who decided the fate of human souls despite being just as diverse and flawed as they were. Who had clearly sworn Ichigo, Chad, and even poor Inoue to silence. And who had somehow transformed Ichigo into one of their own a few years ago, further ensuring his cooperation.

She faithfully told herself that was the clincher, the time when her opinions had shifted. Ichigo, emerging from some dark portal looking months older and years more serene. He had been facing down a bizarre being he'd called 'Aizen' that looked like a brown-haired man with purple eyes and white butterfly wings sprouting from his back. Even untrained senses like hers could tell that creature was dangerous, that he held power surpassing any human. She'd felt it washing over them from the start, nearly crushing them by his mere presence.

And yet... of the two of them, Ichigo had scared her the worse. Though he bore a familiar face, in outlook and ability there was nothing left of the impulsive, sweet kid who tried so hard to look cool when people were watching. Ichigo Kurosaki was gone, subsumed into something much more Shinigami than human. Something that still pretended to be him.

They had to be stopped. People had to know that they were being watched, controlled by ancient ghosts who hid Hollow-level evil behind a very human-like facade. And so Jutani Zatsua had trusted her, a newcomer, with the lynchpin, the key to their entire operation to destroy the Soul Society resting on her shoulders. 'Operation Spirit Eater' lay entirely in her hands.

Her parents would have been proud of her.

Settling to a stop in a forest several miles from the border of the south _Rukongai_ district, she found a clearing and ordered her thoughts. _Alright. Senkaimon. A rift in the spiritual fabric. Have to keep the destination in mind, remember._

Rukia's sword was just as shockingly beautiful as the girl herself had been; a milk-white saber with ribbons along the hilt that shone in the morning sun. As she'd been cautioned, it resisted her touch at first, refusing to move an inch until Tatsuki brought forth the _reiatsu_ she'd drained only moments before. "_Sode no Shirayuki_", she intoned the weapon's name, trying to make the thing believe it was in the hands of its true owner. "Let's go."

Just as she'd seen, and later copied the memories of, she cut downwards from the top, a bit taller than Rukia but equally delicate.

Nothing happened. Tatsuki cursed to herself, but again Zatsua had given her all the important details, including the fact that the rite had to be performed exactly as she'd seen. The memory of how to do it was right there in her mind, sticking out like all the other memories she'd copied. Flashes. Memories of an execution, of fighting, of being an adopted Kuchiki noble... and memories of Ichigo.

"He's not yours, Shinigami", she growled on the fourth failed attempt. "He's a human being, not a ghost."

_Now_ she had the hang of it. Raise up to the highest point, then move down slowly, trying to cut the air like hard cheese. On the ninth try, a gash of light opened, becoming two sliding gates barring the way in. _Destination set. Now all I have to do is wait._

Five minutes later, the gates flew open. An arm stretched through, grasping at thin air, followed by another arm, two legs and the rest. The Spirit Eater Lanis stood before her, a bit more alert and sane than his usual gibberish. "Miss Arisawa. _Grazas. _As I predicted, you have succeeded where many others would have failed. _Fermoso._"

"You guided them", she guessed, not too pleased to see the wild-eyed seer. "With your power, you could predict which routes were dangerous."

Thankfully, it wasn't long before others followed him through, Hyn Alumirr sticking his head in as if expecting an attack the moment he stepped out. "Whoa. Well done, Arisawa. Frigeld always said we could count on you."

"Thanks." The real accolades didn't come until Zatsua herself stepped through, mirrored glasses in her pocket so she could cast her gaze on the new dimension they had come to.

"There she is!", the doctor spoke excitedly. "_There's_ my Number One! Hah-haaah! You did it! You really, truly did it!"

"I did what I had to", Tatsuki answered simply, still too uncomfortable to look her in the eye. "Frigeld taught me that. Speaking of...?"

Several of them studied the group intently. "He... didn't make it", Hyn said. "Shinigami took him down. I'm sorry, Arisawa."

"Don't be, brother" another Spirit Eater beside him spoke up, another woman who Tatsuki didn't know placing a hand on the hunter's shoulder. "Now we get to pay them back in full."

That seemed to be correct. As Tatsuki looked around she saw everyone she had met in the lab was there, except for one. "Nogrand. Was he, um, too big for the gate?"

"No", Zatsua said brightly. "He's on a different mission at the moment, an important-"

Seeing a new arm reach through the _Senkaimon_, her voice became a frightened shout and she jumped away from it. The rest of Nogrand Juno's colossal form followed his arm through, a small bundle over his shoulder. "Mission accomplished, master Zatsua."

The doctor clutched at her heart, breathing out. "Oh. You have it then. You travelled to Karakura Town and back so quickly?"

The flat black-haired giant remained impassive. "You specified that the mission was both time sensitive and critical. Efficiency is of the utmost importance. No significant interference was encountered. Operational ratio remains at 70%."

"You used your stored energy" the doctor remembered, disapproving. "Though I suppose it doesn't really matter now. Go ahead, number one. Take it."

Bending all the way over to reach the floor, Nogrand revealed his package- Tatsuki's own black and white karate uniform, which had been left behind at her house ever since Frigeld had taken her away and shown her the truth of her past.

One more kindness she had never expected from him. But she took the outfit with grace and whispered thanks into the giant's gaping ear, even if he was probably too robotic-minded to care one way or the other. "I'll... I'll just be a second."

"Take all the time you need, dear. I trust you. We won't start without you."

By the time she'd changed, everyone seemed better adjusted to the forest around them. Only Adre and Reeve remained unmoved. The princess was no surprise- Tatsuki had never liked the way the little girl acted like she was the only person who mattered. But she was surprised that Reeve Pastell was not even close to fulfilling his usual quota of sarcastic remarks and mischief.

Instead, he was lying down on the grass, staring at a flower on the ground, nearly motionless. Drawing closer, she was thrown to see that the young man had not only dyed his hair vibrant orange and removed his braids, but he also now had a stump where his right hand should have been. That had to be the reason for his stupor.

Pastell had been no less aggravating than Adre; all too often he reminded Tatsuki of any number of local bullies who might come down on someone weaker than they, the kinds of boys she didn't mind beating up and showing how wrong they were. But such an injury was hard to ignore too, and the dazed look in his eyes suggested either trauma or base hunger for more spirit energy.

"Hey. Pastell, you all right?"

His reaction was not violent or sudden. Rather, it was the similarity to another boy Reeve's age she had just left behind mere hours ago that made her step back. "Huh? What do you mean, Tatsuki-chan?"

"Your hand", she pointed out. "Zatsua shouldn't have brought you, Reeve."

"Who? I'm Ichigo, remember? Now quit fooling around and give me my coat back already."

She almost laughed, but it was too weird for that. _I suppose the way he styled his hair combined with __the colouring kinda makes him look like Ichigo, and he has the mannerisms down pat... but still, come on!_

"He's... been in a bad way", Zatsua admitted reluctantly at her side. Like Tatsuki, it would take something_ really_ disturbing to make her care much about the health of their most immature Spirit Eater. "Ever since the Shinigami cut his hand off, he keeps telling everyone, insisting that he's Ichigo Kurosaki. And he has all the knowledge to prove it too."

"Drained him", Tatsuki guessed right away, feeling sick all over again so that he took the coat off her back without much trouble. The last thing she needed right now was a reminder of guilt, someone who looked, talked and behaved _exactly_ like the person she had just betrayed. "Maybe something went wrong because he's part-human?"

"I can only speculate" the doctor demurred. "In any case, there's no time for that now. We have a job to do." Turning back to the others, she held up one hand for attention. When that failed, Nogrand Juno let out a piercing wail that rocked the forest and made several including Tatsuki clutch their ears in pain.

"My Spirit Eaters", Zatsua began. "You stand now in the land of our enemy. This is a dimension separate from the human world which no nuclear strike or air raid could reach normally. As many of you know, it has required substantial effort and subterfuge on our part just to make it this far... but of course the majority of the credit must go to Tatsuki Arisawa, our number one."

Every range of applause came from the gathering, with Hyn, Krieg and Demalza being the most enthusiastic and supportive. On the other end of the scale, Hyn's sister Yui, Barton and Lanis barely even raised their hands.

"Though this is the soul reaper's world, I have faith that the abilities I have granted you from birth will be able to take full advantage of its unique composition." Closing her eyes and spreading her arms out slowly as if savouring the moment, Zatsua smiled. "Most of you have sensed it by now, I'm sure. This world is not one of flesh and blood, but of spirits. Everything in it is composed of _reishi_, organized spirit particles. _Everything. _The trees. The grass. The mountains. The land beneath our feet. The very air itself... all of it is made of _reishi_."

It was true. From the moment she'd stepped through the _Senkaimon_ Rukia had created, Tatsuki had felt a smell in the air like the finest of chocolates, and towards the end fought a growing need not to take a preliminary snack out of a wall... or a Shinigami. Either one would have been a disaster- the new powers singing through her body definitely came with a fair price tag.

"Now, my children", Zatsua went on. "Touch your hands to the ground and drink deeply. Take as much as you can possibly hold, and push your _Ianzamento_ to heights undreamt of."

They all obeyed this order, even Reeve. It was like being given permission to devour a cake. A massively delicious cake they'd been standing on for the whole speech.

Jutani Zatsua looked on with pride as several of them began to grunt. Not in pain, but sheer exhilaration. _Perfect! Just as I estimated!_

From the very beginning, the most obvious ceiling on a Spirit Eater's power was the constant need to drain additional sources of energy, whether they were Hollows, Shinigami, or in extreme cases ordinary ghosts. A normal Hollow could be drained in thirty seconds or so before dying, and would grant the consumer roughly a week's worth of energy, though much less if they used their _Ianzamento_ at a normal level.

A Shinigami was much better. In all of her projections they would die within five minutes of being drained- perhaps slightly more if one was more powerful than their test subject, Rutori Igenari. Their _reiastsu_ could fuel a Spirit Eater for months normally, weeks if they used their _Ianzamento_ repeatedly, and only days if they overextended their power.

Zatsua had no solid evidence on which to hypothesize what exactly had created this world of the soul reapers. All she knew was it was formed from a source of spiritual energy greater than every Shinigami combined together and multiplied a thousandfold. The strength of the world removed the ceiling, leaving behind only the limits of their own bodies' ability to _hold_ so much energy.

Sure enough, towards the end of it a patch of grass burst into flames and a tree was bisected by an invisible cutter. Collectively they began to gasp. Black lightning bolts ground into the shrubbery and the land groaned ominously around them, the beginnings of an earthquake. Her 'children' were now so bloated on the energy of this world that their uniform tattoos glowed with the power. They would have to use their _Ianzamento_ constantly to 'vent' energy and avoid overloading. In battle, they could ramp it up even further, to levels that normally would have left them empty and starving in minutes.

"With_ this_ power", Zatsua intoned. "We will free humanity from its secret masters... but I must now confess, not all of you will be fighting right away."

Just like with Tatsuki, there was a wide range of reactions to this. Barton, Demalza, Adre, and Tatsuki herself all looked intensely relieved they might not be required to start the violence. Yui, Nogrand and Reeve seemed to slump at the words. Hyn, Krieg and Lanis seemed undecided.

"Understand this." she told the gathering tersely, making sure to catch the eyes of the hard cases and drive every point home

"Even with the miraculous power you've now attained... the Shinigami enemies we face are fighters with capabilities beyond my greatest estimates. They have centuries of battle experience over you. Remember the lesson of Frigeld Han; he was our number two. He was your superior in every possible way... yet still he lost and died to one of the Soul Society's youngest and least powerful captains. The Shinigami have thirteen squads of warriors. Thirteen lieutenants. THIRTEEN of those blasted captains! Underestimate them even slightly, become careless with your powers... and they WILL kill you. That's a guarantee."

Good. It looked like enough of them were properly scared now. Those like Yui Alumirr who weren't wouldn't be convinced by anything she could say. They would have to wait until the battle began to learn the truth.

"So we_ must_ operate smartly, and follow the strategies Mr. Han has drilled into you these past months." Seeing several of them nod, she faced Demalza Sanhas directly. The former NCPD cop had never been much for violent conquest, and she had pushed harder than anyone to spare the life of Ichigo Kurosaki. That said, her loyalty was second only to Frigeld Han, fierce and unyielding when pushed. "Can you feel him, Demalza? The beast-captain, Sajin Komamura?"

She stood, concentrating with a focus suddenly ramped up to five times its former maximum limit. "Yes. He's at the north gate with his squad. He's feeling anxious, but he doesn't know we're here."

"And can you...?"

Her brow furrowed. "I'm... not sure. I think so. I'd like to try getting closer to him first."

"You will", Zatsua promised. "You can travel with the attack group. The_ second_ group, the one which will be travelling with me and Verdade, I don't expect to be doing much serious fighting just yet. I need for Lanis to be in this group, but I would request at least two more volunteers who aren't Nogrand or Yui. Like Demalza, they have to be in the attack group for the plan to work."

With that she left the gathered Spirit Eaters to the decision, beckoning only Verdade over to the edge of the forest, a ridge overlooking much of the Shinigami's world. From here one could just barely make out the border of the vast feudal city known as the _Rukongai_, and certainly the tall white castle rising from its center, the heart of the Soul Society government.

"It's smaller than I had envisioned", she noted clinically. Beyond the city were vast stretches of plains and farmland divided by rivers, much like what Japan was supposed to have looked like 500 years ago. "They must have learned the truth by now... I can only hope our_ other_ spy knows to stay out of trouble for the time being."

"Kiatenin's dependable", her newest servant said delicately. "He'll know not to act until his contribution is worth something, perhaps sabotaging the Soul Society's chain of command."

"Yes." Her eyes glimmered at the thought, and her twin mirrors surveyed the vast realm of spirits with a dismissive laugh. To think that the secret rulers of humanity were so rustic, so backwards technologically...

"Hahahah... Poor, deluded little Shinigami. They can rally and plan and blame Number One all they wish, but still they have no idea just what we've got in store. It's begun. We've already won. Soon, they'll be _extinct_. And one of _them_ is going to help us do it."

Verdade turned his head away as Jutani Zatsua's growing laughter carried on down the hill, knowing without fully comprehending the depth of his creator's bitterness. The ringing echoes still sounded far too much like madness for him to be comfortable around.

_(...You're no good and you mean no good, treacherously.)_

* * *

><p>AN: I believe this would be the very definition of a 'wham episode'. I've certainly tried to make it that way, keeping the 'Number One's identity a secret as best I could. While I'm certain some preliminary reactions will be like Ichigo and deny she could ever betray him like that, that it's out of character for Tatsuki, her reasons for doing so are detailed above.

As you might have guessed, some more fight scenes are on the way. While some of them I've already planned out, I thought I'd go ahead and ask if there were any particular Shinigami my reviewers wanted to see in action soon. Everyone seems to have their fan favourites, and the coming battle is something all of them are expected to react to.


	16. Part 16: Invasion

Part 16: Invasion

* * *

><p><em>Begin log.<em>

_Greetings to the leaders of the world. I am Jutani Zatsua, daughter of the late Genkinto Zatusa, former head of the Japanese government's paranormal research division, formerly coined 'Ingenium Devora'._

_I'm fairly certain that Japan's rivals will want to pounce on that statement. They will demand that trials and investigations be held to learn more about this secret side of our homeland's national security. I beg you not to listen to them, for I bring news of a threat that you will want to put as many resources as possible towards defeating._

_I assure you that what you see on this video is NOT faked. It is another dimension, separate from our own. Check its topography and vegetation against your maps of our world- you'll find it doesn't match any of them. This is completely real. It's the realm of the spiritual beings who have acted as directors for wayward souls across the world, the reapers of souls. The Shinigami._

_Yes, I can already hear your disbelief. But I swear that they are real. And they have secretly guided humanity from the shadows for thousands of years... something I have made it my life's work to put a stop to. More proof of these claims will follow. End log._

* * *

><p>"You", Matoba Arisawa panted weakly, "have ceased to be of interest, mod soul."<p>

The face of the body he still struggled to hold down smirked back even as he fought to get loose again. "Hey! Let me go, old-timer! You're not the boss of me!"

As expected, he couldn't hold Ichigo Kurosaki's writhing body down for any longer, at least not with whatever soul was inside of it enhancing speed and strength. It forced the old professor away, but after getting up and seeing the number of actual Shinigami around thought better of acting out.

Matoba had at first been delighted at the sight of the strange 'mod soul' technology which he barely understood, somehow creating entire auxiliary personalities and bodies. That enthusiasm had quickly faded into annoyance once they'd been ordered to pull back to the clearing on other side of the Naruki city gate with the rest of squad 7. Necessitating a merry chase he wasn't at all sure his heart could take, trying to bring down a body which could leap across rooftops and over cars. Sado Yasutora had gone ahead now, but his strong contribution had made it possible to trap Kon and drag him back across the gate with the rest.

"I just wanted to see the city", he pleaded. "Is that so wrong? There's so much exciting stuff I wanted to see!"

"Yes, the ladies' massage parlour was very interesting I'm sure", Matoba grunted. "It's illogical that an artificial soul like you would be so obsessed with sex."

"I just like the booby-woobies!", he confessed in an expression that looked bizarre on Ichigo's normally serious face. "C'mon old-timer, I spent years of my life in a boring freakin' jar, cut me a break! I've got to make up for it, and experience as much of life in the outside world as possible! Can't you just let a poor guy live his dream?"

"Quiet." To a mix of relief and fear, it was the squad's fierce captain who had spoken, his command enough to startle Kon into obedience for the time being. "This is a serious operation, mod soul."

In fact the captain was another curiosity to Matoba- a bipedal wolf with brown and white fur who acted with human-level intelligence, wore soul reaper clothes and sword. Had he not been such an imposing sight, Matoba would have gladly let the annoying mod soul rot and focused on Komamura.

"No sign of them", the captain's lieutenant, a more normal-looking man with black hair, mustache and sunglasses noted calmly. "Shall we report to command, Taicho?"

"One messenger", Komamura growled in agreement after a moment. His displeasure did not seem focused on any of them, and he sniffed the air suspiciously. "Something is wrong, Iba. The wind is strange, the land deathly still..."

"I'll add it to the report", his lieutenant said without missing a beat.

_Fascinating_, Matoba noted as he took a break from throttling the juvenile mod soul, the strange pendant around Ichigo's neck chafing his hands. _Even as reapers of souls, they have formed natural hierarchies based off strength and discipline. Even a functioning city, if Sado is to be believed. Truly, behaviour-wise they are more like humans than any of us ever imagined._

Which only made the lack of discipline they gave their 'pets' all the more confusing. "I think they may have just given me my punishment for my sins in creating the Spirit Eaters", he joked halfheartedly, face-palming. "I'll admit it's nowhere as bad as I had figured."

"Mod souls", one of the burlier squad 7 cadets snickered. "A failed concept. Even Urahara couldn't find a way to make them obey orders. Normally they form attachments to their owners, ignoring all others."

"Only their friends can make them listen", he echoed back, knowing an outright dismissal of the idea might sound heartless. "I suppose it's easy for you Shinigami to catch them when they act up, but _please_ don't make me do that again. I- heh- I can't feel my knees."

"Worry not", Iba called to him. "Once we return to the _Seritei_, Ichigo Kurosaki can return to his proper body and we can chuck that miscreant back into-"

He trailed off, but it was too late; Kon reacted with more frenzied energy than ever before, begging tear-eyed not to go back to the Research Division and screaming for Rukia and Ichigo to stop them. "Relax please", Matoba tried. "They must keep you at his house for a reason. We can simply return you to the doll container they were using."

The mod soul pouted and folded Ichigo's arms stubbornly, but even he must have realized his fate was no longer in his own hands. "Humph! Jerks!"

"Ya live on the sufferance of master Kurosaki, mod soul", the lieutenant reminded him. "Duty's the be-all end-all. Most of your kind are held in jars until you're needed, understood?"

"I'm not going back there. Nuh-uh! Never!"

"Then it would be advisable for you to be on your best behaviour, got it?"

Understandably, he was much quieter then. Matoba found he had little else to do after that but wait and observe as the squad went about their duties of sparring and policing the gate, Iba performing the ritual to close it now that the 2nd squad was safely through...

He had nearly sank into a daydream when a beastly howl tore through the camp. To the shock of everyone there, captain Komamura staggered forth clutching at his head, releasing noises more befitting the predator animal he resembled than any sentient being. Naturally his lieutenant was the first to zip over- and Matoba had never stopped being shocked to see Shinigami literally _zip_ over- and ask his captain what was wrong.

The backhand sent him flying. Komamura thrashed and snarled, clawing another one who had drawn too close and they all backed away in fright.

"What's going on? What's happened to him?"

"Get back!", Iba's voice boomed as he returned to his feet. "Taicho's not himself! I SAID **BACK**!"

The noise drew the captain's attention, and now the sword at his belt came out, glinting in the morning sun. "It's me... Taicho", Iba tried once again. "Your friend, remember?"

He did not, if the speed with which the blade impacted on Iba's own Falchion-style weapon was any indicator. "Fly, you idiots!", the man shouted after the opening salvo of parries. "Get back to the _Seritei_, and tell someone what's happened! That is your duty as soul reapers!"

He couldn't win. He knew it, the squad knew it, and even Matoba could tell from the desperation in his voice it was a holding action. It wasn't until they were far enough away to be unable to hear the noises of battle that Matoba stopped. He knelt down as if physically struck, hands pressed to his face in denial. "No... this can't be...!"

"HEY!", Kon called. "Move it or lose it, old-timer!" When that didn't work, he ran back and grabbed the human, vaulting the distance to make up for it with him cradled in Ichigo's arms. "What's the deal? Don't tell me you're comin' down with the crazies too!"

"No", the man replied gravely. He needed a smoke bad. Hopefully the soul reaper city would have them. "I simply recognized it for what it was. It's an _Ianzamento_. It's called 'Wild Drive'. They're _here_. The Spirit Eaters are _here_..."

* * *

><p>They had plenty of time to clear the civilians out of the district at least. Only empty buildings remained by the time the sun had reached its apex in the sky. When later confronted about the terrible damage the dwellings would face in a major battle on their doorstep, Genryusai Yamamoto's response would be cold and clear: "What is one month spent rebuilding to the lifespan of a Shinigami?"<p>

As the enemy had no doubt planned from the start, most of the 13 squads were either deployed already or otherwise engaged. Only the top fighters of squad 11 were eager enough to be waiting when the attack force appeared over the hill, running flat-out on borrowed _reiatsu._

There were seven of them in total, a huge range of gender, size, skin colour, personality and power. Petite and flat-chested Demalza Sanhas brought up the rear clearly in a position to be protected by the others in the event of a counterattack, her eyes screwed up in concentration, not reacting or talking to anyone.

Nogrand Juno and Barton Eishinshi flanked her as devoted guardians, providing a polarized contrast in both shape and hair colour. One black, the other white. One a flat cut, the other a massive cloudy beard. Both men looked solemn, but reluctant to move from their spots and engage.

On Barton's left came Reeve Pastell and Kreig Tsubaku, the latter still wearing the coat and hairstyle of Ichigo Kurosaki, along with the stance. His friend looked nervous, standing out in front to guard Reeve just as much as Demalza.

To Nogrand's right were the Alumirr siblings, Hyn and Yui. Identifiable by the odd molten red colour of their irises as well as a certain similarity of body structure, both wore matte black fatigues as opposed to the forest green jackets of the rest of their colleagues excepting 'Reechigo'. Yui was the standout, being much more muscular and better endowed than either Demalza or Tatsuki... and not exactly afraid to flaunt this in the faces of their audience, the opposite of her brother's stoic demeanour.

All bore the triangular tattoo of the Spirit Eater somewhere on their limbs or beneath the green jackets and pants. And all of them looked a great deal more confident in their abilities than they had been yesterday.

Not long before they stepped through the deserted south gate, their first opposition appeared as well. A fierce-looking bald man with magenta eyeliner, with a spear instead of a sword. A shorter one, extremely attractive with red and yellow in his hair spikes in addition to the majority being blue.

And behind them, jangling bells precluding the appearance of one who dwarfed them both in size and power, a face covered in scars and an eye patch above a mouth grinning insanely wide. As he strode past his respectful subordinates, a blushing pink-haired ball of boundless energy who looked to be no older than five popped up on his shoulder and waved merrily to the Spirit Eaters as though they were welcome guests at her birthday party. "Hiii! Hihihi! Looks like there's a lot of them, Kenny! You can pick and choose!"

Despite this strange greeting, the attack force's leader stepped forward solemnly. "Squad 11, led by Kenpachi Zaraki", he observed of the enormous scarred man. "I am Hyn Alumirr. You will be the first to fall before our might. We are the Spirit Eaters, and we have come to free humanity from your influence."

It took Kenpachi a moment to recognize that the man was talking to him, and he scratched his hair sheepishly. "Oh right. Uh. Sorry pal, but we're not really too keen on the dippy-matic stuff. We're just here for a few good fights, _if_ you can give 'em to us."

"That and more", Yui promised eagerly, leering at Yumichika's opulent face and licking her lips suggestively. "We'll kick all your sorry asses and hang 'em out to dry. Especially _that_ one."

"I must apologize for my sister", Hyn said with a bow, and just a touch of wry amusement. "She doesn't get out among people very much, and she likes to speak her mind without considering the consequences."

Years of military training made it easy to anticipate and dodge, but Hyn allowed the woman's fist to impact his head- it was the fastest way to expunge her anger. "I just don't like to lie, okay? Jeez! Tryin' to be all nicey-nicey to people we're gonna kill. Sometimes you astound me bro."

"Diplomacy is a staple of warfare, sister", he shot back, rubbing his skull. "Ever since man has been able to use weapons, negotiations have been the other side to that coin."

"Yakitey-yack", Kenpachi rumbled impatiently, one hand already on his sword's hilt. "Let's just fight already. You look like you're the leader of this bunch so I'd lay wager you're the strongest one, Mr. 'Hyn'. I'll fight you."

"I refuse", Hyn said flatly. "I have a new mission to attend to now; my previous task was merely to guide these ones to the south gate of your city and conduct any negotiations necessary. I believe they are concluded now, captain."

"But you didn't deny that you're the strongest one", the massive soul reaper pointed out with a full-teeth grin. "_That's_ a cryin' shame. Guess I'll just save the best for last then, eh?"

"Yay! Always save the best for last!", the girl on his shoulder agreed energetically. "Just like desert!"

Brushing himself off, Hyn withdrew. But now the captain's single eye drifted over to the right side of the formation. "Hey. That guy... he kinda looks like..."

"ICHI!", his lieutenant called. "Ichi's come to play too!"

Reeve shrugged exactly like Ichigo would have, and gave the captain a playful smile. "Sure, Kenpachi. I suppose I can't put off a rematch with you forever, huh?"

"That's the spirit!", the man roared happily. "Let's do it Ichigo!"

But Kreig stepped out in front, arms spread. "No way. Absolutely not. You want to fight someone? Then fight me, pal. Reeve's... not feeling too well right about now."

"Then I'll take him", the bald man spoke up, stepping forward. "Taicho's not the only one who wanted a rematch against Kurosaki... and if this guy isn't him after all, then he's close enough for me."

Kreig threw up his hands in surrender. "Ergh! Fine! I guess there had to be a point in bringing him out here when he's like this. He's all yours, baldy."

The man's left eye twitched, and Kreig stepped back. "Great, but _don't_ call me baldy or I'll be comin' for you next!"

"Which just leaves me", the handsome one spoke up beside his captain. "That cute girl seemed interested before, why not? First dates are always so exciting."

"_Such_ a gentleman", Yui agreed flirtatiously. Exchanging a look with her brother however, she scowled. "Whatever. I'll go out with you _if_ you can beat Nogrand here." On cue, the largest Spirit Eater stepped forward, flattening the ground as he went. Yumichika gulped at the sight.

"Shinigami detected. Objective: Destroy."

"Charmed, I'm sure", the Shinigami replied with a resigned groan before disappearing in a flash, bound for another part of the district. Though Squad 11 wasn't one much for rules like the kind that suggested fighting separate duels against multiple opponents to minimize friendly fire, their dedication to personal honour ensured the same result: Reeve departed alongside Ikakku, and Kreig nervously _Shunpo'd _away with Kenpachi for their duel, clouds of disturbed dust the only sign they'd been there at all.

Leaving only the four Spirit Eaters on the main road. Hyn faced each of his remaining comrades in turn, studying Demalza the closest. "You're alright? Is Komamura resisting you?"

"He is", she managed to force the words out from under the enormous mental strain. "He is... very strong. It's taking... all of my power, even with the... enhancements. But... I should be okay in a bit. The longer I maintain the connection... the more he identifies me as a friend. He's fighting his lieutenant now... After he wins that, I'll send him here."

"Good work", Hyn nodded. "Those fools didn't look like too much, but I'd expect another squad or two to show up as reinforcements any minute now. On that note, I'd better get set up for them. Both of you make sure to protect miss Sanhas from harm until Komamura arrives, understood?"

Barton held no objections. He hadn't come wanting to fight anyway. Yui stared back at him, looking smug as ever. "Such a bossy leader. Is it any wonder Zatsua dotes on you, bro?"

"One of us has to be the responsible one, sister", he said wistfully, searching the city carefully for the tallest structure. "And dealing with spiritual beings of_ this _caliber... shall require all the responsibility and power we can muster."

Yui rolled her eyes. "Emphasis on _caliber_, right? Puh-leeze. Just promise me I'll get some kind of action today. That you'll let at least one of them through to fight me."

The lava-eyed man laughed softly. "Not my choice. I am a soldier. We all must do our part, remember. It's doctor's orders."

* * *

><p>Nothing that had happened in the past twenty-four hours had convinced Ichigo not to rush out and help repel the enemy attack. Fed up with the demands of several of squad 10's fighters, Narahama had thrown her hands up... and thrown down a <em>Kido <em>spell to paralyse him, though it would not hold him long.

"_You_ are still injured, Master Kurosaki", the young brown-haired healer insisted angrily, nearly poking through the bandages that covered his chest. "You have not even fully recovered from that Reeve character draining you, never mind the number of your ribs that miss Arisawa broke."

The mention of her name seemed to act like a bucket of icy-cold water in his face, and Ichigo sat down. "...Don't call me master."

Rukia had left, something about being the acting courier for squad 10 in the wake of the recent sounds of battle ringing up from the south. Only a handful of injured remained, though Toshiro had been strangely obedient about remaining behind and allowing his wounds from the previous battle to be treated, with bandages all the way up to his sternum. Possibly having to do with the fact that he was no longer captain.

"It's because I have faith in our allies, Kurosaki", he said when confronted about it. "Kenpachi Zaraki's squad is already there, and all the others have received the orders to return and defend our home. There's quite a few who would be insulted that you think they need any assistance from a _substitute_."

"So you keep reminding me", he groaned, then winced as Narahama had to press down on a sensitive spot. "Damn... I still can't believe this. **Why**? Why would she do that?"

"Your theory has merit", the ex-captain pointed out. "We have yet to learn all the capabilities of the Spirit Eaters. One of them possessing mental domination abilities is not out of the question, particularly if they drained specific kinds of Hollows with such powers."

"Not with Tatsuki-chan", he insisted. "She's too strong-willed. She would never let some freak control her."

Seeing the contradiction there, Toshiro shrugged and turned away, leaving him to wrestle with the paradox. Had there been a hint? Of course. She hadn't hit him for lying to her. There had been loads of other things about Tatsuki that weren't quite right when he'd seen her again, things he'd chalked up to the effects of a long captivity. One more failure among bucket loads.

_I am Ingenium Devora, Ichigo. I am the Number One._

A noise from outside the barracks was welcome, as it stopped his mind from spiralling down into even darker conclusions. He was even more pleased to see Sado at the gate, rushing breathless past the guards to see him.

"You made it", he noted, sitting up in the cot. "Did they tell you what was going on?"

"Most of it", Chad nodded, with a moment of silence to indicate his own sorrow for what had happened. "I did not believe it when Soul Society claimed Inoue to be a traitor, and I do not believe it now. We have to have faith, Ichigo."

"We will. There's absolutely no way our Tatsuki-chan would be a traitor." With his stance seconded, he could say that in complete sureness, no matter what Rukia or anyone said. The Shinigami didn't know, they had never experienced the girl up close, seen her laugh and smile and punish bullies with such zeal. As with Orihime, someone so clean and pure could never truly betray them. It was impossible. Even more impossible than the dream world he'd become trapped in yesterday.

Gods, was that only _yesterday_? It felt like forever.

All the same, he was strangely glad to remain out of the fighting for the time being. Going out there now, he might have to fight _her_. He dreaded the idea, and not merely because she always beat him when they sparred as kids. Whatever else had happened to her, his oldest friend had gained strength surpassing any human or Hollow, and coupled it with her own lethal martial arts skills. "I just hope she's not out there now."

"I don't know", Chad said, then shuffled uneasily. "But I have more bad news to report."

"More bad news", Toshiro repeated from one room over, successfully hiding any dread in his voice. "Let us hear it, Sado Yasutora."

"I heard this from Matoba and the fleeing members of squad 7. Their captain, Sajin Komamura, has gone mad. His lieutenant, Iba, remained behind to fight and buy them the time to escape."

Again, the ex-captain hid his shock well. "We must report this at once. Take my badge, Yasutora. It will give you clearance to speak to the other captains at headquarters and warn them of this new evil."

Behind the mop of messy hair, the boy's eyes grew wide. "You would trust me with...?"

"I do. No one here is in fit condition to flash-step long distances but Narahama, and she is occupied with healing us at the moment."

Just as fast, he regained his own composure and nodded. "Yes. Of course... Hitsugaya-Taicho."

* * *

><p>Verdade dropped the camera and sighed. "Can you at least explain to me why we're doing this, doctor? This is a siege, not a nature documentary on Shinigami in their natural habitat."<p>

The journey had been uneventful thus far, but most would consider that to be a good thing. Jutani Zatsua's second group had managed to get into the city without incident, only the occasional guard spotting them and requiring Tatsuki to flash-step over and neutralize them with a few judicious hits. The seer Lanis' powers kept them away from larger groups, and they had been left in peace to film the environs of the_ Rukongai_ and the farmlands surrounding it, gradually making their way towards a destination only he and the doctor knew.

Zatsua, her mood bright as ever with the success of the plan so far, beckoned for the camera to be tossed into her arms. "You've been awfully gutsy for a _Fallos_. But if you must know..."

Another patroller spotted her mid-sentence, and Tatsuki darted over to knock him out with a single uppercut. "It's important for me to show the appearance of complete confidence", she whispered into his ear. "But I am a scientist. I can't just ignore data because I do not like the conclusions I draw from it. And my data indicates that even with all the power of my Spirit Eaters enhanced by this _reiatsu_-rich land, even with the tactics I've drilled into them... we may not be able to win."

"Yes, they might possibly defeat you", he replied impatiently. Stranger upsets had happened, though Verdade remained very confident in their chances after what he'd seen. What kind of soul reaper could _possibly_ be powerful enough to stand up to Hyn? To Barton and Adre? And especially their new number one, Miss Arisawa? "What then?"

"I'm handing out the truth, _Fallos_. I'm going to force it out, whatever it takes. This video camera you've been using is set to broadcast the recording to a hard drive I have set up in my old apartment", Zatsua explained calmly. "After our mission here is done, Tatsuki here is going to return you to the world of the living, where you will find that disk and distribute it to the world. Everyone will see the truth. Undeniable proof that the soul reapers and their world are real, and a real danger."

He breathed out. "O-of course. That's brilliant, doctor. Though an unnecessary precaution by the looks of things so far. They've been disorganized and ineffectual, no match for the weapons you've created."

"So far", Zatsua echoed, allowing herself a second to simply revel in the praise, even from one she inwardly despised. "I've done everything I can to help them... almost everything. But whether we win or lose on this day of reckoning, it will be up to _humans_ to decide their fate. Their precious masquerade, their veil of secrecy will be shattered beyond recovery. It will mean real war."

"Speaking of, was there any purpose to this beyond collecting data for the video? We could've chosen a safer place to get it."

"Just visiting an old acquaintance", she said. A rare bout of girlish laughter escaped her, and hastily re-donning the glasses she swore not to let it happen again in front of her inferiors. The buildings around them were becoming taller and better developed now, and she swept one hand around the area majestically.

"This is the Shinigami's Research and Development division. The quarters and labs of all their top scientists, so to speak. We've come here to request a favour of their most brilliant one, or at least the best-known... a man by the name of Mayuri Kurotsuchi."

The strange-sounding name held no meaning for Verdade. He arched his brow. "But he is still a powerful Shinigami, a captain. Our enemy. How do you expect to get him to cooperate with us?"

"Leave that to me", she assured him, and the strange confidence in her tone stopped his further questioning. "Just continue the log. As you're about to see, I can be very persuasive."

None of them, not even Lanis, spotted the black-furred cat following them down the street as they went.

* * *

><p>AN: Nothing much to add here. I should mention it was 'Invasion', not Number One, that got me started on Bleach's unique soundtrack.


	17. Part 17: The Calling

_Part 17: The Calling_

* * *

><p><em>Begin log.<em>

_This vast city you see is called the Rukongai. It is the home of the soul reapers when they are not in our world. Just like humans they eat and sleep. They bathe, and shower, and read and write._

_But do not for a second let this lead you into thinking the Shinigami are harmless. Far from it, their strength surpasses a human's even without the use of weapons. A Shinigami child is powerful enough to gouge a hole in a human using only their fingers. Though this appears to be a feudal-era township, the Shinigami understand and use complex electronic equipment, as seen here in the Research and Development division._

_(Interlude, sounds of fighting are heard off-camera, followed by a scream then silence)_

_As you can see, their city is well-guarded. It was necessary for my special team and I to fight past many of them merely to reach this point. In order to even enter this dimension, a technique only known to the soul reapers is required. Using this, they can travel anywhere in our world._

_I have yet to mention that Shinigami, like the other kinds of spirits they have dealings with, are invisible to most people while in our world. They are ghosts, gentlemen. The souls of a bygone age, but still capable of reaching out and influencing us. Killing us, if they so desire it. That's right. You heard correctly. If a Shinigami wants you or your wife or your children dead, then they will take their souls away to the afterlife. And there is_ _**nothing**_ _you can do about it._

_Yes, they may appear to have all the advantages over humans. But do not despair, for I have developed the means to fight them on their terms, which I shall outline in my next report. End log._

* * *

><p>11th squad Captain Kenpachi Zaraki had fought a great many opponents in his time. A lot of them tended to disappoint him in one way or another, and this one was jumping onto a trend more and more people seemed to follow as his reputation for being unbeatable grew and grew over the centuries.<p>

It was obvious even to the massively-scarred captain that Kreig Tsubaku was frightened out of his mind of him when they arrived at a more secluded courtyard. He looked young, with curly hair a light shade of blue and one bang dangling down his face in contrast with his jacket, along with several _kanji_ tattoos separate from the mark his allies shared.

In fact a lot of the Spirit Eaters really looked too young and wild to be fighting at all for that matter, but Kenpachi would wait until the kid showed his stuff before passing judgement. _After all, __**Ichigo**__ was just a kid, and __**he**__ gave me the best fight I've had in years._

"Hoi!", he called, hoping this wouldn't discourage him. "Don't be nervous now. I passed up Ichigo to fight with you, so you'd better make it worth my while, got it kid?"

Anger clouded his face. Better, in Kenpachi's opinion, than fear. "He's_ not_ Ichigo, you one-eyed dumbass. His name is Reeve Pastell, he's just kinda... messed up right now."

Disappointing news. Still, even a wannabe could be an interesting challenge. "Eh, fine. How're you gonna do this, anyway? I don't see a sword on ya."

Reminded of his own weapon, Kreig placed both hands together, generating black bolts as the closed. "None of us use _Zanpakuto_. If you're looking for a pure sword fight, you're gonna be disappointed. However..."

When the hands touched, they came away engulfed in orbs of the same energy, stray bolts already eating into nearby structures, though causing no fires. "I do have this. My _Ianzamento,_ the'Eye of the Storm!'"

"Heh. Nice light show, kid", the captain approved. At his side, his own weapon, a simple katana with no distinctive marks or style, slid out into his left hand. "Let's see what it can do!"

* * *

><p>Ikakku Madarame laughed out loud. He might have been losing, but that was worth it to fight Ichigo Kurosaki again. Even if he <em>had<em> forgotten to do the lucky dance today...

It wasn't as though he couldn't turn it around later, after they'd had some real fun. So far, his opponent had been severely hampered by his lack of a left hand, using his replica of _Zangetsu_ only for standard blows against the spear with his other hand, nothing really above what the substitute had shown in their first duel so long ago.

More impressive were the similarities, if that other Spirit Eater had spoken the truth. If this really _wasn't_ Kurosaki Ichigo in the flesh, it was a damned good impersonator. He moved the same way, gave the same defiant grunts, and had the same hair and coat, perhaps being just a bit shorter and leaner than the real deal.

"Ngh... You've really improved, Ikakku", his opponent remarked in that strange near-perfect copy. "With my recent injury, you might have a chance here."

He chuckled. "Only a chance? I'll murderize ya!"

The copycat laughed back, hefting the girth of his blade into guard position just in time. "Just remember, this is sparring. Not to the death, right?"

Unable to break past the sword, he resumed the defensive, trying draw it into a parry against one of his blades. "Treat every fight like the real thing! That's what Zaraki-taicho says!"

* * *

><p>"What a pain", Yumichika Ayasawa murmured, running hands through his clean hair as he sized up his own opponent from atop a barn- thankfully the giant wasn't dumb enough to come up there and break through the roof. "I was<em> so<em> looking forward to some time alone with that beautiful lass among your number... ah well. I'll consider it my due reward for defeating an ugly blight such as you!"

Nogrand Juno didn't care. Those massive glowering eyes were narrowed to mere specks, focusing in on his designated target to the exclusion of whatever meaningless noises it made. "Designated Shinigami target calculated to possess minimal spiritual power. Chance of victory: 90%."

"I bet you say that to all the ladies", the soul reaper joked sourly. "Really now, they could not conceive of a greater mismatch, such a classless muscle-head against my grace and beauty-"

The giant did not wait. He lunged, moving at speeds anyone unfamiliar with _Shunpo_ would be astonished to see from a normal person, never mind a behemoth such as this. The flying punch smashed through the roof he'd been standing on, sending wood fragments in all directions.

But the one thing that wasn't there was his target. "Useless! Utterly without dignity, not even waiting for me to finish talking!", Yumichika condemned him sadly. "There's no hope for you, I'm-"

Again he was interrupted to dodge the flying tank, and now his claw-like weapon came out, an array of blades ready to slice into the giant. "Fine. You'd fit right into squad 11, really. Talk with action!"

* * *

><p>"I know you can hear me Taicho", Tetsuzaemon Iba gritted out. "So I just wanna say... it's been great serving with you, even now."<p>

He could no longer fool himself into thinking this could end any other way.

True, whatever was controlling his squad leader Komamura didn't have enough of a grip on him yet to fight with every bit of the potential Iba knew him to be capable of... but even a reduced Komamura had proven enough to wear him down over the last hour, weapons clashing again and again until Iba could barely hold his _Shikai_ upright.

The beast-man gave no sign of understanding, snarling at him and rushing forward into another attack. _Reckless_, his lieutenant observed hazily. _But then he can afford to be. I've been avoiding doing anything big out of fear I might kill him. Baka- I should've remembered Taicho can take whatever I throw at him._

And if not... well. He might have looked like a bipedal wolf, but his captain was a Real Man. He would rather die than be used like a puppet. And Iba, being a Real Man himself, would grant him that, even if it meant facing the same punishment Rukia Kuchiki had faced for killing Kaien Shiba.

No, making the decision to use lethal force against his beloved captain wasn't as hard as many in Soul Society might expect it to be. The hard part was actually getting a hit in. Far from deterred, Komamura growled and lunged forward again, a near-miss of his prized shades. Moving to parry, he risked moving one hand off the hilt of his blade to utter a spell:

"Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six_!_ _Way of Binding 61_- Six Rods of Light!"

Imprisoned by the magical bindings, Komamura howled all the louder, seeming more and more like the animal his body implied. Heaving a sigh, his lieutenant watched each of the six intersecting lines of light for some sign of when they would break. As he'd figured, whatever was driving Komamura into this mad frenzy hadn't left him with the wits to perform _Kido _spells... or to recognize and dodge one. Forcing his nerves into line, he raised his hands once more. "Sprinkled on the bones of the beast. Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle. _Way of Destruction 63_- _Raikoho!_"

It was the best he could think of at the spur of the moment. As dark clouds gathered above, a bolt of lightning slashed down from the sky to take his captain in the head and shattering the rods which had held him in place for this knockout blow. Again Komamura gave an animal's furious screaming reaction to the pain, but he did not fall.

Without missing a beat, Iba renewed the binding spell immediately. "Apologies, Taicho." _Come on, think! What else is there that's more powerful? _Sosuke Aizen's 'black coffin' spell came to mind, but he had never had the opportunity to learn it. In truth he'd only studied_ Kido_ in the first place to gain rank, never looking into the high-level spells farther than he needed to. To his regret.

Besides, using the 'black coffin' would be an insult- his captain had never forgotten that terrible day. None of them ever would. Searching his memories and finding nothing better, he repeated the _Raikoho_ and then applied the binding spell a third time. The real Komamura would have found it child's play to counter this strategy of wearing him down, but so long as he continued to operate with an animal's limited intelligence...

_Then don't kill. Bind. _Help had to be coming soon once word got out of the fight- an alert soul reaper might have already noticed the weirdness of two spiritual forces fighting each other seriously even if his squad was late. "Way of Binding 62, _Hyapporankan_!"

He was embarrassed to find he couldn't remember the full incantation, but the descending rods of blue energy descended from his sweeping hand gesture all the same, pinning his captain in place even further. So long as Komamura couldn't move, couldn't attack him or anyone else while he was like this, Iba's mission was accomplished.

"You won't thank me when you're back to normal", he admonished, feeling his mustache over the noise of the snarling beast before him. You're a Real Man, after all. But I'll feel it all the same."

And he _was_ proud. Even if his captain hadn't had his wits about him, just holding him down like this was a major achievement for any lieutenant. "We'll find who's doing this to you Taicho. I swear we'll make them _pay_."

Unbelievably, Komamura growled even louder on hearing that. His pupils were dilated as though he'd been hunting at night. Had he understood?

Whatever the trigger had been, he was no longer confident in the binding's ability to hold the mad wolf-man for the required time. He swiftly renewed both, trying to calm him down with hand gestures as he did. "Easy. Remember? It's me. Your lieutenant."

Then Komamura raised the sword that had been held motionless at his side for dozens of minutes, and Iba cursed. "No. Don't do that! TAICHO!"

The captain's words were distorted and growling, as though he truly was a beast learning to speak for the first time, but they were clear enough. "BAN-KAI_... Tenken!"_

The bindings shattered at once. Individually Iba might have been able to repair them, but the power that had thrown off the rods and shackles dwarfed his own. It was a power he had not seen often, but often enough to know its magnitude. Pulling away he looked up... and up... and up...!

Rising from the cage of smashed bindings, Komamura now sat on the shoulders of a two hundred-foot giant, an armoured samurai that Iba knew copied the movements of its wielder. Every stroke was echoed by the creature, easily ten times the strength of his captain or more through sheer mass.

Standing in its shadow, he could not run away. Only brace himself and his own sword. "Please stop! You don't know what you're doing! TAICHO! WAKE UP!"

Neither of them seemed to hear him. Komamura raised his blade, the giant following every move.

The blade fell, the giant's own street-length sword descending like a meteor.

And Tetsuzaemon Iba knew no more.

* * *

><p>Hakiza of Squad 10 had been hovering outside the battlefield, relieved to finally see a score of figures floating over the horizon. As they drew closer, he went stiff at the familiar black hair and white <em>haori<em> of Byakuya Kuchiki, the captain of Squad 6. Even allies found him difficult to be around that piercing glare sometimes, along with the knowledge of his power.

"Report", he demanded coldly, apparently not even surprised at the sight of the soul reaper emerging from his spot between two chimneys. "What is the situation?"

"Sir", Hakiza nodded, though he was annoyed to find his voice try to crack. "Squad 11 has engaged the enemy without permission. Three of them yet remain unchallenged, but they have not moved from their spot in last half hour. One, who appeared to be their leader, has retreated."

"That fool Zaraki could not resist", the captain surmised gravely. "But in this case his lack of protocol has prevented this thrust from getting past the south border." Closing his eyes, he stretched his senses beyond the horizon, to the spot where three duels were underway, and...!

"Kurosaki?", he wondered in a rare moment of confusion. "Why is he here?"

"I don't know, sir. I detected his spiritual pressure in two places at once." _Perhaps the human wishes to show us up again_, Hakiza noted without speaking. It would be better for everyone if Kurosaki Ichigo simply left with his remaining friends now, but lady Rukia remained irritatingly fond of the useless humans.

"We shall engage the three remaining enemy then", the captain decreed, nodding to two of his squad members, Ryonora and Tenbuki. Renji Abarai remained absent, too badly drained to stand, but these two had also shown potential approaching the red-haired lieutenant, even if neither had achieved _Bankai _yet. Better, neither showed the annoying drive to ascend to Byakuya's level that Abarai had shown repeatedly. They both were highly disciplined men, and followed their captain's orders to the letter without complaint. The rest were ordered back to help evacuate civilians.

Then they were off, three bounding along rooftops towards the source of the energy while the Kuchiki lord used _Shunpo_ to zip ahead of them, scouting the way. _The order of battle_, Hakiza reminded himself. It wasn't merely a formality, but logic- in a battle involving individuals of this level of power, an ally was more hindrance than help; you would spend so much time trying to avoid hitting your partner that you wouldn't be able to concentrate on the enemy.

This had been tried and proven over centuries, and the only exceptions to the rule came in those rare moments when the 13 Squads were faced with an enemy so unfathomably powerful that they had to throw all caution to the winds and attack en masse, not caring if a few of them were caught in the crossfire.

The order of battle also dictated that the strongest of both sides should fight each other, the weakest likewise. In this case, there was no way of knowing how powerful each enemy was before engaging. They were voids in Hakiza's spiritual sense, devouring all the souls that drew near them, only detectable when engaged and using that stored energy up with their _Ianzamento_. Of the three not engaged, the old man looked to be the weakest, but again there was no way to tell...

"Taicho", he worked up the courage to ask of the nobleman. "What shall we do if Kurosaki Ichigo does indeed turn out to be there? What if he, like Tatsuki Arisawa, has turned on us?"

Somehow, the captain turned even colder. "If that is the case, then he is our enemy as well. I shall deal with him personally- none of you would be able to match him."

Falling silent, Hakiza fumed at that, forgetting to watch where he was jumping and almost falling off the roof. A mere human! And he was being warned away for his own safety! It was inconceivable. Kurosaki had to be a fraud, a human who had stumbled into Shinigami powers and gotten lucky in a few battles. It just wasn't possible for a human to match any soul reaper, never mind captains.

"Komamura's incoming from the other direction", he noted, pleased at having picked up that spiritual pressure signature. "We should be able to catch them in an ambush." With _three_ distinguished captains present, the battle would be over before it began. He almost pitied the enemy facing such an onslaught.

Then his world exploded into blinding pain, radiating out from something rooted deeply in his left shoulder's nerves. Hakiza fell, crashing headfirst into a barn in a shower of splinters. To his relief, all three of the Squad 6 members slowed themselves down to examine him.

"Spiritual energy", Ryonora observed clinically, knowing their captain would not wish to waste any more time than necessary. "Something lodged in his body, a projectile."

"Hyn Alumirr", Byakuya said, remembering the names from the reports. "You're a worthless imbecile, Hakiza. That fourth member didn't retreat. He hid."

"No...", he reached up to the captain's impassive face, broken croak of a voice failing to elicit compassion. "Please... I can't..."

"Fortunately, his attacks do not seem as strong as they were reported", the captain went on as if one of his comrades was not bleeding. "That shot should have killed a weakling such as you in one hit. All the same, we must move carefully. Eliminating him shall be priority one."

Standing, able to do no more to help Hakiza, Ryonora nodded. "Y-yes, Taicho. H-his style is said to imitate the type of human soldiers called 'snipers', correct?"

Byakuya snorted, as offended by the comparison as Hakiza was at being brought down and injured by a _human_. Even a Shinigami child could walk through the flying bits of lead that humans called 'bullets' without a scratch. These shots had been supercharged with the Spirit Eater's energy release, his _Ianzamento_. "An ambush. Remain hidden for now, I shall deal with this enemy."

"Please", Hakiza begged as he turned to depart. "Not like this. "

Byakuya halted, and for one brief moment Hakiza thought the captain was actually showing him pity. Instead, his face looked more alarmed than merciful.

A few seconds later, he knew why. It was pain. It was pleasure, and everything in-between. The energy was building up inside him filling his being, more power than he had ever known...

"OUT!", the captain bellowed, amazingly loud for one so stoic normally. "Get out NOW! He's going to-"

Then Hakiza understood. His nerves sang with the feeling. It was the shot that was doing this, filling him up with its stored energy. They weren't going to save him. They _couldn't_. He was already dead. _Impossible.__Impossible__. A human. Only a __**human**__...!_

Squad 6 had barely made it out of the barn before it detonated, sending a column of smoke and debris into the sky for miles around it. Even without their spiritual senses, the soul reapers could tell their friend was gone.

Two kilometers away from the blast, Hyn Alumirr closed his eyes in satisfaction and whispered "One down".

* * *

><p>An angry shout wailed out from the 10th squad barracks. Though its staff had come to expect the occasional howl of Matsumoto's name, this time it was Narahama, not their captain, who was responsible.<p>

"You will _not_ attack my patient!", the young healer shouted into Ichigo's ear. "This is an infirmary, not a boxing ring!"

Ears ringing, Ichigo dropped back, taking the look on Renji Abarai's face as ample apology. "Sorry. I just didn't want to believe what he said."

"My fault", the lieutenant offered, gesturing over his bandages. "I should've thought it through. I've got a big mouth sometimes. But Ichigo... I swear it's the truth. Tatsuki_ drained_ me. I came to rescue her and she grabbed me and clamped one hand over my mouth, so that I couldn't scream for help."

Just like that, the roaring anger which had driven him to punch Renji in the face was gone, replaced by the sick feeling that had been his companion since the incident. "Sorry, Renji. I just..."

"I'm having a hard time believing it myself. I kind of liked her, really. She had guts."

"More than me", Ichigo agreed with a wistful laugh. "One more reason I can't believe she'd throw in with those Spirit Eater creeps. I know she was mad at me for lying, but I didn't think she was _this_ mad."

"I don't think it's that", his friend protested, flinching away for a moment as if expecting another punch. "There's something else. That Matoba guy-"

"Yeah." This time, he merely clenched his hands, then his teeth. "Her uncle. That's why he quit. Too bad his successor went ahead with it anyway. Just like Reeve. Just like Frigeld. Her powers were supposed to manifest around the time of her 17th birthday if I've got this right."

"But that alone cannot have changed her mind", Sado said, emerging from a doorway with a nod towards Renji. "You're looking better. Less gray."

"Thanks." The lieutenant leaned back, trying to convince an angry Narahama he wasn't as hurt as he looked. "But whatever the reason, it won't matter to Soul Society. They'll consider her an enemy and treat her accordingly. I understand if you're worried."

"I'd almost be more worried about whoever they send to fight her", he said. That was only half a joke- he couldn't forget how easily his ribs had parted before Tatsuki's attack. True he'd been ill at the time and nowhere near prepared for it, but one hit shouldn't have done that much damage to his Shinigami body. _Super strength. Her Ianzamento, it has to be. And that's combined with her own black belt martial arts skills... she may just be right. Among the Spirit Eaters, she could be Number One._

Not number one among the Shinigami though. He'd seen their legendary champions in action many times. If it came down to it... he wasn't sure which one he would root for to win.

"Then let us be the ones to do it", Sado said grimly, flexing his Giant's Arm carefully. "I heard the explosion. The battle has already begun. The sooner we engage, the more likely we are to be ale to prevent anything unfortunate from happening."

He'd spoken Ichigo's mind, but still he glanced over to their snappish healer for confirmation. "If you must", Narahama sighed. "_Honestly_. We work and work to help you regain your spiritual energy and you just rush back out to use it up again."

Following her gaze to the motionless body of Rutori Igenari, Ichigo shrugged. Somehow, neither Narahama or Orihime's arts had managed to reverse the man's condition. In fact Inoue's spirits had been less effective than usual at undoing a loss of energy, though they had restored Ichigo's ribs as efficiently as ever. "Hey, don't worry. We won't be alone. You just keep at it, Narahama-san."

Which left only one more person to say goodbye to. Inoue looked tearful at first, but shed them when he approached the doorway she'd been listening from. "Kurosaki-kun... I understand. You have to save her, right?"

"We will", Sado promised. "That is how we began this. No matter what the soul reapers say, we take care of our own."

Ichigo could sense the emotional distance in that statement... and accepted it all the same as he helped rub away the last of her her tears. "Always, Inoue. Compared to Hueco Mundo, this'll be a walk in the park. There's only what, a dozen of them?"

"Just don't be overconfident, human", Narahama warned him. "If you come back here all torn up again I swear I'm getting a transfer out of this squad no matter what Hitsugaya-Taicho says."

Actually laughing, he waved. "Give Toshiro our regards... and a 'get-well-soon'. We'll take care of things like we always have... let's go!"

Pulling the door open with an energetic heave, he boggled back at the mirror image that awaited him. "D'AHH! What're you doing?"

His human body grinned lopsidely before darting through the door and forcing it shut. "Here Ichigo, you can have it back. Komamura's gone nuts, he's tryin' to kill me! I'd be safer inside my old self! Gottahidegottahidegottahide-"

"He isn't lying", Matoba chipped in from behind him. "The enemy have caught your allies completely off guard here."

One more reason for them to go. But Ichigo looked around helplessly for a moment before remembering. "Damn. I left the doll at my house. Gonna have to stay like this for now."

"Gottahidegottahi- Whaaaat? Oh come on! There's gotta be some body I can stay in! Someplace that crazy mutt won't get at me!"

Narahama beat him to the task of yelling at Kon not to call captain Komamura a mutt, but the idea left him motionless long enough for Matoba to nod solemnly, confirming. "Yes. I believe you've met miss Demalza Sanhas already?"

"'_Wild Drive_'", he repeated bleakly. "Not just dogs. She can control _any_ animal. Even a spiritual one with human intelligence."

"Only after her _Ianzamento_ was magnified by the energy of this dimension, I'm guessing", Matoba offered. "Take great care, young one. Whatever powers you faced in Naruki City will be vastly improved now- by a factor of five or more. If I thought I had a prayer of changing their minds, I would come with you."

There was still much he wanted to ask the man... but he couldn't delay any longer. Tatsuki was still out there, possibly fighting for her life. "Be our guest doc", he offered, gesturing to Narahama's diabolical grin. "We'll just make room for two additional patients..."


	18. Part 18: Encirclement Battle

Note: Fair warning, there are some fairly squeamish terms and depictions of gore in this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 18: Encirclement Battle<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Begin Log.<em>

_Over here, Lanis. Where they can see you. Good._

_This is one of my most successful subjects, though I don't deserve even one third of the full credit. Let the records show that Matoba Arisawa and Genkinto Zatsua both established important bases of facts to work from when creating human specimens capable of seeing and fighting soul reapers, along with the many other individuals who composed their research teams._

_On a level most of you might understand, with the knowledge given to me I have made these people vacumns for 'spiritrons', the particles that compose Shinigami's bodies as well as their home dimension. In this way, as well as giving them a way to release said energy in the form of the Ianzamento_, _we have created the perfect anti-Shinigami weapons._

_In the event that our mission here is a failure, I have included information on how to duplicate the procedure in other humans if necessary. If we fail, then it will be up to the nations of the world to decide how to deal with the Shinigami in the only way I could possibly devise. They shrug off bullets and artillery like raindrops. They can dodge nuclear blasts. Ingenium Devora is the only way to defeat them, and so I ask you to forgive my country its privacy, as it was imposed with the safety of all humanity in mind. _

_I have given you a weapon, gentlemen. It's up to you to use it. End log._

* * *

><p>Captain Byakuya Kuchiki had been the head of his noble house for many centuries and carried the pride and traditions that had to come with it for nearly as long. Whatever the limitations on his actions might have come with that title and the pride that came with it, for once he was grateful for the aura of respect it granted him from commoners.<p>

Because for once, he actually had to take a short silence to properly order his thoughts, and having any of his men interrupt him or suggest he was breaking down emotionally in any possible way would have been... unforgivably undignified.

_Interceptor_, he labelled the role of the Spirit Eater who had attacked them and killed the arrogant Hakiza with a thunderous explosion. _He was waiting for Shinigami squads to rush to Zaraki's rescue, so he could shoot them down. His power is best suited to extremely long-distance battles, making sure we cannot help Squad 11 with their current engagements._

There were ways around this of course. Simply running along the ground would eventually get them back to the main street where they could attack the old man and the two girls they'd spotted there in accordance with the order of battle. Slow, but safe.

But that would mean acknowledging the Interceptor as a force that he was afraid of facing. Unacceptable. The only way to reply to such an affront was to eliminate such a threat himself, and demonstrate the power of the Soul Society, that they feared no one and had no reason to.

"Remain here for now", he commanded his remaining men hiding in the house they'd ducked into. "I shall tell you when it's safe."

None of them protested. It would be undignified to question their superior's orders in such a way. If their captain said he could handle the fight alone, then he could. He nodded to Ryunora. "You know the Level 68 _Wakinari_ Kido spell, correct? Use it to inform the other nearby squads of the danger."

Leaving the burly soul reaper to it, he focused on his own task, once more feeling the cold resolve of his _Zanpakuto _in his hand. "Shatter. _Senbonzakura_."

The blade immediately did exactly that, becoming a thousand tiny shards, glowing pink with the energy controlling them, looking- as so many had pointed out- much like cherry blossom petals.

Byakuya disagreed vehemently. Sakura petals could not cut a victim to ribbons if he so commanded it. Instead of letting them shred the house however, he quickly formed the blades into a protective sphere, enclosing him completely before he rose out of the building above the skyline.

He had barely cleared it when the deadly shot rang out again. The sphere's walls bulged violently, surging inwards towards his impassive face... and held. _Through motion, Senbonzakura dissipates the shot's velocity, minimizing the impact. More importantly..._

The pink blades continued to swirl around him, making sure to drop the tiny metal shell somewhere safe, where its explosion would only destroy structures. Interestingly, this one did not detonate. _He saw me cast it aside, knew it wouldn't do any good. _Had he been a bit slower to act and control the motion of the blades, the explosion could well have blasted the sphere apart, leaving him vulnerable to a second, potentially fatal shot.

What was his opponent thinking now? Panicking, perhaps? Wondering how he would ever get a shot past a completely enclosed sphere of pink death? The next shot came on just as quickly and was discarded the same way, but it allayed a small, shameful worry of his: if this enemy had the ability to detonate their shots remotely, by activating them as soon as they landed he could indeed shatter the sphere.

No such thing happened. His original instincts had been correct- the shot required time to build up the energy for an explosion of that power, perhaps even utilizing the energy of the soul reaper it lodged within to reach critical mass.

His pink sphere floated across the cityscape like a tiny moon, casting aside every shot with dismissive ease. While it was true the sphere blocked the captain's eyesight and ears as well, only a fool would rely on those alone. He could_ sense _his opponent's spiritual pressure. It was only a kilometre away, and closing.

Which confirmed another weakness Squad 10's report had alluded to: when they were using up energy, the Spirit Eaters could be detected just like anyone else. Their stolen energy still left an impact, though it would have the distinct flavor of whomever they had taken it from. _Pathetic. How this one ever matched Hitsugaya is a mystery._

The shots were more desperate now, the enemy clearly realizing that remaining silent wouldn't hide him. Which direction the shot had come from didn't matter- he could sense the source, a geyser of energy mostly stolen from Soul Society itself.

His prey didn't even break and run as the sphere drew closer, merely firing as fast as his woefully slow rate would allow. Not a single shot got through.

Finally, the end of this farce. And the only real risk- the time when he would have to turn the sphere back into its 'cloud' form to eviscerate his target. Ten seconds between shots. Certainly enough time to destroy the enemy's weapon, if not kill him altogether if he proven elusive. The man would die without a single word from him or from Byakuya. He was not _worth_ a single word.

Waiting for the next shot to give him ten fresh seconds, he shifted _Senbonzakura_'s hilt. A thousand blades rained down on the tower his target had been using as a perch to fire on all incoming soul reapers. There could be no escape. There was a convergence of pink obscuring the features of his prey, flattening the tower before he could halt them. The enemy would die without even seeing the captain's face, torn to bits in the storm of petals surrounding both of them, swirling around on currents of _reiatsu_ the way their master commanded. They-

He blinked once, sensing his _Zanpakuto_'s confusion in the same instant as his own. _Where is he, master?_

Metal. Just the faintest taste of metal in the air. Dead particles lacking in spiritual presence...

He cursed, immediately shifting the hilt, calling blades into the protective-

Too late. The same sound again, and this time his lower back exploded into a thousand burning needles and he fell.

_-Stupid-_

_-Failure- _

_A decoy. All this time you were sensing a decoy because you couldn't look with your eyes._

The captain managed not to cry out. _Remarkable. _Centuries ago, when he'd been a young and more hotheaded man, this kind of pain would have had him wailing like an infant. It was all across his body now, hammering at his fortress of resolve with tongs of fire.

Things changed. Training to endure having one's own nervous system perforated was one of the pillars of his combat teachings. How many times had his very own sister had to deal with impalement? What good was a Shinigami if they couldn't put up with a few injuries? He ducked down and reformed _Senbonzakura_ into its base form.

As if sensing his urgency, the blade shot beneath his _haori _into the flesh of his own back immediately, seeking and finding the tiny piece of metal that was tormenting its master. Blood splattered on the wood flooring, but he did not show weakness by grunting or making noise that might show how much it _hurt_.

_Down. _His weapon was occupied, but a simple tap of the hand was enough to destroy whatever remained of the tower's wood floor, allowing him to fall to the earth without exposing himself to another shot... and giving him time to catch his bearings before he nearly blacked out.

The blood-covered shell did not detonate. Instead it spoke to him, a tinny voice nearly as stoic as his own, but sounding genuinely impressed. A human. "Well done, soul reaper. You dug the shell out of your spine before it could explode. Not very many people could do that while also enduring the pain of my shot _and_ the pain of self-surgery. In fact... you're the first."

When he refused to reply out of a mix of pride and anguish, the shell continued. "You must be that captain in Rutori Igenari's memories. The cold logical one with noble blood... Byakuya Kuchiki. It's an honour to meet a fellow soldier, particularly one well known for being level-headed."

He still would not dignify the man's words with a reply. There was nothing to say, and his throat was already acid.

"It's irksome sometimes, being the only Spirit Eater with military training. My sister Yui wouldn't know strategy if it bit her in the face."

He had no idea why. His lips just moved of their own accord, devoid of amusement or warmth. "I understand completely, the burden of having an emotional little sister to take care of, Hyn Alumirr. Do not presume us to be equals in any way but that... I have not even begun to fight seriously yet."

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline, honoured Kuchiki", the shell echoed. "You can sense those new spiritual pressure signals coming our way as clearly as I can. More of your reinforcements no doubt. I have to do something about them too. It's my duty as a soldier. Don't worry, we'll resume in just a few minutes after they're dead."

_Then _the shell detonated, bringing a tower's worth of burning wreckage down on his head.

* * *

><p>"You", Yumichika grunted from beneath an avalanche of horrible dust, "are a brute."<p>

Nogrand Juno didn't seem to care. About what he said, or the detonations that had been rocking the district during their fight. He had waded into every strike as a true juggernaut, ignoring gashes his opponent's claw _Zanpakuto _was opening up all along his flesh like they were insect bites. "Current Shinigami power reserves estimated to be 40%", he observed calmly as he marched towards the latest house he'd tossed his prey into. "Estimated chance of success remains 100%. Objective: Terminate."

He didn't feel quite_ that_ weak yet, but the blue-haired soul reaper had to admit he was feeling the strain. "Oh dear. Fighting such a brute up close is simply _not_ my style, even if I am a member of squad 11. Fortunately... that is not my only means of attack!"

First, distance. The next time the behemoth charged he did not brace himself at all, allowing the shoulder to knock him into a fence. Knowing he had only seconds, Yumichika threw his unused arm to the winds, pointing a dainty index finger towards Nogrand. "Hado Number 4, Pale Thunder: _Byakurai!_"

Blue lightning blasted forth from the finger, momentarily darkening an otherwise perfectly sunny day. The giant was too far off to see if he'd done any lingering damage, but more importantly his charge had stopped. Throwing up both hands in victory he nearly dropped his weapon. "Yesssss! Direct hit! Alright now... Hado Number 7, Shadow Line: _Umbrai!_"

Now a beam of solid darkness came forth from his pinky finger, once again tearing into the giant at the other end of the alley, pushing him back. He smiled, flexing his off hand like it had a shiny ring on each finger. "I'm getting good at this, wouldn't you say?"

He knew perfectly well these weren't the highest level spells, in fact some of the lowest. He hadn't even learned the incantations yet... but this was still more than any other member of his squad had bothered with. Their captain never learned Kido. He didn't _need_ it.

"Don't tell anyone I'm using this now", he laughed at his target, beginning to enjoy the different-coloured rays of light, how they shot forth out of his fingers at will. "On the other hand, I could put on a dazzling show with these, and enhance my beauty even further!" He had blue, green, black and gold so far. He made a mental note to do some research after this was over and find out what the lowest-level red _Hado_ spell was, so he could complete the display.

The Spirit Eater's single-mindedness was now working against him. Again and again he would charge down the alley toward Yumichika, and again and again he would be blasted back up by a spell, not even thinking to dodge. "No long range attacks", the Shinigami shook his head in pity. "If you were as strong as Zaraki-Taicho that might be excused. But then a brute like yourself wouldn't even know how to cast spells like this. Better for me to put you down now, before you embarrass yourself any further... and then I can get to know that beautiful lady who was with you before, yes?"

_Kenpachi_... idly, he wondered how the captain's own battle was progressing and laughed at his own absurdity. His captain always drew out battles for maximum enjoyment, but there was never any doubt he would win at the end. Sure enough, off in the distance was more lightning as sign of Kreig Tsubaku's vain attempts to get past Zaraki's blade as they fought.

Turning back to his own duel, he saw Nogrand had finally decided to stop trying to charge him. Instead he'd drawn himself up to his full height, towering over some the low-slung housings that hadn't yet been demolished. "Hn. I guess even a dull-witted dog will eventually learn the stove's too hot to touch. What will you do now then, brute? Et tu?"

A feral dog's growl answered him. It took him a moment to realize the noise hadn't come from Nogrand Juno, and in that moment, Sajin Komamura struck.

* * *

><p>He had become a Shinigami, a God of Death.<p>

He had fought a hundred battles against ruthless enemies beyond anything most humans dreamt of, and won most of them.

But Ichigo Kurosaki found his memories of the past little while to be annoyingly hazy. Yes sparring with someone from squad 11 was hardly new. He just wished he could remember better how he had gotten there, and why he was fighting against Ikkaku Madarame when a bunch of other fights with people he didn't know were happening around them.

"Enough, Ikkaku", he tried. Not likely to work- the bald grinning Shinigami was every bit the fight fanatic as his idol and captain. He wouldn't be backing down until a winner was decided.

So he decided. He'd lost a hand in a recent battle, but none of the power he'd gained over the past few years. He could remember each major battle clearly at least. Byakuya. Kariya. Grimmjow. Ulquiorra. Compared to them, this one wasn't much.

His sword arm came up, catching the spear in its hilt. Twisting it to lock them tight, he took Ikkaku in the chest with a kick before using the extra leverage to snap the wooden shaft in two with a _crack _as he fell.

That would repair, of course. In just a few seconds the shaft, part spirit as well as wood, would knit itself together and the soul reaper would resume the offensive. He did not give Ikkaku those seconds, thrusting downward with _Zangetsu_ until a light spray of blood coated the ground.

"Damn", was all the man could say. "Ya got me."

He shrugged like it was nothing. He did feel kind of sorry for Ikkaku, who hadn't improved a huge amount since they'd met, but a win was a win. "Yeah. So how's about telling me what this is about huh? I saw Kenpachi fighting someone earlier, and I sense a lot of other spiritual pressures around. Something wrong?"

Ikkaku _laughed_. He did not laugh often, and Ichigo could see why- it was creepy, especially coupled with that wide toothy grin of his. "Seriously? You really think you're...?"

"IKKAKU!", a new voice shouted to their spot on the roof. No, he frowned. Not a new voice. A very familiar voice. _His_ voice. The one who had shouted was staring up at them from the street, eyes wide open in shock.

Because looking down at the new arrival was like looking into a mirror. The impostor had everything down perfectly, except for the intact hand. Understandable. He'd only lost it recently, though frustratingly he couldn't remember exactly when...

"Reeve", his doppelganger observed coldly, drawing his own blade- a fantastically-accurate copy of _Zangetsu_. "It's true what I heard. I guess this is karmic payback for me not having to deal with a _Reigai_ earlier."

His mirror was talking nonsense. He hated this type, the ones who used mind games to confuse you instead of just fighting you straight up. "Huh. Is that what you are? Some leftover _Reigai_ who took on my shape?"

Eyes closed, the duplicate laughed softly to himself, only slightly more comforting to hear than Ikkaku. "You wish. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. The real one."

He answered with the same grin, leaping off the roof to confront his impostor. "Good one. _I'm_ Kurosaki Ichigo, pal. You're just a fake."

"No, you're a Spirit Eater", the duplicate argued back, clearly not expecting his words to have any effect on someone as persistently stubborn as himself. "A _really annoying_ Spirit Eater named Reeve Pastell. I guess you drained me too often, got too many of my memories inside you so you started thinking you are me."

"You're talking crazy", he scoffed. "I'm me. I'm the only one who can be me."

Ikkaku laughed again at the absurdity of it, hanging his feet down off the side of the roof like the whole thing was a big joke. "Now _this_ oughta' be more interesting... Can you defeat yourself, Ichigo?"

The copy groaned, unsheathing his replica _Zangetsu_ as though the whole thing was unwanted labour. "He's not me, Ikkaku. He's just confused, that's all." Moving into an identical ready stance with both hands on the hilt, his eyes narrowed. "And that's _not _Zangetsu. That's just a piece of metal you used your power to turn into a replica... But I can already tell that the only way to knock some sense into him is gonna be to beat him!"

"That's the only way for me to convince you I'm the real deal", Ichigo agreed, gripping his own sword at the ready. _His_ sword, Zangetsu. _Not_ a replica no matter what this bastard said. "But when we're done and I beat you, you'd better be ready to answer some questions, _Reigai."_

The impostor groaned again. "Urgh! Baka I already told you, I'm not a _Reigai! _Whatever! Let's settle this, Reeve! This is kinda my fault... but... I'll definitely bring you back to your senses!"

Ridiculous. An impostor trying to make him doubt who he really was when he still had memories of so many years as both human and Shinigami, of all his friends and his sisters and his father waiting for him to come home safely.

His name wasn't Reeve. It was Ichigo Kurosaki. He knew that. The one standing across from him was the fake. It had to be. He would prove it.

* * *

><p>Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of squad 12 knew firsthand that great men of science always gravitated toward the simple comfort of routine. They set schedules down to the minute for the day's experiments, as well as the preparation for new ones in the coming weeks. Science and discovery were harsh taskmasters, and so was he, which was why he always applied his makeup in the morning without fail. Unwanted interruptions to his routine, particularly unannounced intruders, were always met with the best righteous anger and screaming he could put forth.<p>

"NEMU!", he screeched at the top of his lungs from the balcony after realizing that none of today's unwanted intruders looked familiar, though they shared uniforms that were fairly charming. "WHY DID YOU LET THESE PEASANTS IN HERE? THIS IS A PLACE OF SCIENCE, NOT A DUNG HEAP!"

"She can't hear you, Mayuri", the woman in the lead said, gesturing to the door they'd waltzed through as though they owned the lab- there was even a black cat poised a ways behind them, even more potential for filthiness. "She was proving inconvenient, so Tatsuki had to knock her out. Likewise for your other guards."

"Imbecilic wretches!", he snarled down once he'd found his voice again. Not that he cared about the nameless nobody guards. And if Nemu died he could always create another one. But now they were _here_, getting dirt all over his lab after Nemu had cleaned it perfectly for tomorrow. "You think you can just come in here and ruin my perfect schedule?"

Infuriated, he raised his weapon, the _Zanpaktou_ with a baby's bronzed face, which many of his ignorant inferiors claimed to find 'creepy'. With one touch, _Ashogi Jizo_'s poisoncould completely paralyze a victim while leaving all the pain centers unaffected. This would prove useful, as he had quite a lot of pain in mind for these fools who had interrupted-

The leader held out a hand. Looking closer, he realized to be a human. _Interesting. A genuine human in Soul Society who isn't that deadbeat Kurosaki Ichigo or his friends. _"Don't try it, Mayuri. I've already inoculated us against the exact poison you're going to use to immobilize us. We just want to talk."

He unleashed the purple gas anyway. The four intruders coughed a while, but none of them seemed affected beyond that. _Mm. Disheartening. Am I truly so easy to predict? That shall have to change._

He broke into a Cheshire grin, the spread of fearsome yellow teeth that had made many a guard and lab assist run away to request a transfer. "You have one minute before I use a different poison. Talk quickly, human. Time is wasting."

The woman grinned back, though not nearly as impressive or scary. "Do you remember source Lugano?"

The captain grunted. "Of course I remember source Lugano, you fool. Provided me with a great deal of interesting specimens, they did! For free, too!"

Her lips drew wider. "I'm source Lugano. My name is Jutani Zatsua, and I've come to collect on your debt."

Mayuri scoffed. "Any dreg could make that claim. Lugano was always anonymous. Am I really expected to believe that a mere human could have collected all those Hollow and Shinigami body parts for my-"

Something blocked his view of Zatsua. Another human male and young with strange eyes. His sword-work was refined but slow; Mayuri easily dodged back away from the metal weapon and scowled.

The bodyguard was unmoved, perched on the rail like a deranged monkey. "Dr. Zatsua's telling the truth, captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. She has come to offer you a chance to perform a new kind of experiment."

He snorted. "_Doctor_. Now you expect me to believe this human woman, not even thirty years old, knows anything about science? Twenty seconds!"

Then Zatsua reached into her handbag, for a moment looking like the average human prowling a store for deals, and when she recovered the item Mayuri forgot about his mental timer.

A cylinder in her hands about six feet tall, one wide. Within it, something that defied all memory, though its glow reminded him faintly of bright green fluorescent lighting, its light reflected in his yellow eyes.

He smiled horribly. He had seen every pathetic little thing the human world had to offer, but he had not seen this. His mind twisted itself into knots trying to decipher whatever elements composed it and came up with no result.

"I call them G particles", Zatsua offered after his 'timer' expired. "The building blocks of my creations. By injecting them into a fetus, they grant the resulting human Spirit Eater powers around the time of their 17th birthday."

"Fascinating." For once, he truly meant that. He had to have them, had to examine what kind of strange results might happen with different kinds of humans. The experiments would take 17 years to conclude, but to a Shinigami that was a blink in time.

Almost as interesting was the confession inherent in that statement- not many humans would be willing to do such a thing to unborn children. Far too many of them were hypocrites who saw children as something inherently sacred. This one wasn't limited by those annoying considerations of 'ethics' his colleagues kept banging on about. "What do you want in return, miss Lugano?"

She tried to duplicate his grin, but failed- her lips weren't nearly wide enough. "Actually, you can have this right now, so long as you use it for the project I want first."

Mayuri glowered, remembering how irritated he'd been by the intrusion. "Hmph! I am the finest scientific mind in the Soul Society, I do not perform projects on command! Certainly not for a human!"

"Then change that."

Not wasting time considering what she meant, he swept down to the ground floor to peer closer at the capsule. "Oh my. Truly?"

She released the container without resisting, watching the man's yellowed eyes as they examined every inch of the strange particles. "Understand, Kurotsuchi. I created these people to fulfil my life's goal. My main regret- what my detractors will always point out- is that I was too cowardly to perform the experiments on myself. Because I _couldn't_. Because my father never selected me as a candidate for injection before I was born." If either of them noticed the way Tatsuki was shifting uneasily, they did not care.

"In all my time I was unable to find a way to make the G particles active again inside any body that has already been born. But perhaps... you could."

He blinked, gaze moving away from the container for a split second. "I see. You want to have the powers of you creations? Foolish! By the human's pathetic standards you are a genius, you shouldn't waste it."

She shrugged, trying hard not to show any fear of those furtive eyes and the way the captain was sizing her up like a piece of meat. "This is my life's work. It's already done and recorded. I just want to be able to help my chil... the Spirit Eaters, in any way I can. I offer those particles, and my own body to your research on the simple condition that you make me powerful enough to aid them in battle. I don't particularly care how. The more powerful, the better."

Mayuri didn't seem to grasp the enormity of that offer, and now Tatsuki looked even more worried. "This guy's a sicko and you're letting him have full access to your body", she muttered. "Please don't do this, doctor. We can beat them. I know we can."

Zatsua gave her a warm smile, alien to their new benefactor. "Thank you, Number One. But I can't ask you to do anything I wasn't willing to do myself. The only reason I never turned myself into a Spirit Eater before now was because the G particles have no effect on a grown body. That's why injections have to be performed early, without consent. That's why you became what you are now, 17 years after you were chosen for it."

"Sentiment. How touching", the captain snarked from behind the capsule, the glass' reflection distorting his face into something almost as gruesome. "But I can make no guarantees. I have yet to examine all the properties of these 'G cells', or their effects on your companions. You're hardly the ideal specimen, a weak human."

_Now I have you_, she couldn't help but think. The achillies' heel of every self-proclaimed genius, not limited to herself. "Consider it a challenge, doctor Kurotsuchi. You can't say such a thing is beyond the abilities of the greatest scientific mind in Soul Society, can you?"

The yellow eyes narrowed. Mayuri stroked his golden 'beard' attachment curiously. "...Challenge accepted human, but you must give me access to all of your research and resources."

Again, fear nearly overtook her. This was, after all, one of the beings she had made it her life's goal to destroy, and one well-known for his cruelty. "I won't be needing them."

But he didn't seem to care about that. She had understood that much about him in their previous interactions, which was why they'd sought him out. Soul Society could burn, wither and die, its people scattered, but so long as Mayuri Kurotsuchi was provided with ample specimens and projects and research to pore over and dissect 'till the world's end, he simply _did not care_.

If all went according to plan, that exact scenario would soon play itself out at length.

And Jutani Zatsua would have her wish at long last.

* * *

><p>AN: Mayuri and Byakuya are both characters who require a fair amount of effort to depict accurately with their weirdly skewed world views. Hopefully it's on target.

Naturally the accusation can be made that I'm giving my OC villains like Hyn far too easy a time of it thus far, being able to defeat so many beloved characters. But hey, that's how you do a conflict. It's not interesting if one side is too overpowered, and don't forget there's still 10 more squads who haven't arrived on the scene yet. I haven't seen any replies to any particular favourite character requests, so I'll just go with whoever fits the situation. Review please.


	19. Part 19: Power to Strive

Part 19: Power to Strive

* * *

><p><em>Begin log.<em>

_This large building you see is the Shinigami's Research and Development institute, which we are just departing after securing their top scientist. Why have such a massive facility dedicated to R & D, you ask? The same reason that any human superpower does it- to gain the critical edge on their enemies._

_Over here, on the other side of the district, you can see the tops of the palaces belonging to the Soul Society's noble families. Yes gentlemen, you heard correctly. Noble families in this day and age, not unlike the Daimyo of feudal Japan many ages past. Princes and princesses, kings and queens, who are given greater authority and privilege over any other soul reaper. _

_Understand that the Soul Society's government is an anachronism devoid of democracy. It is no better off than any Middle-eastern despotism, an enemy of the free world. And lest we forget, each member of this 'country' possesses the strength of a hundred humans. It would have been a betrayal for me not to search for a way to defeat, or at least hold them in check the way I have. End log._

* * *

><p>Seeing the group of soul reapers just standing there in the alley, Rangiku Matsumoto ground to a halt, her entourage following suit. Her teeth clenched and she hissed. "Hey! Baka! Move it or lose it! There's a battle going on here!"<p>

Her followers, the members of squad 10 who hadn't been injured in the fight at Naruki or occupied with healing, echoed her sentiment in loud voices, and she smirked. Her captain had stepped down, and most of the lieutenants would have been terrified to take over even temporarily. But the brave men of squad 10 had already learned to follow Matsumoto's every order as though she'd been captain all along. Beauty seemed to trump Hitsugaya's stern discipline, at least for the moment.

Then the leader of the immobile group came, and already she felt the temperature dropping a few degrees. A young man with large sandy blond bangs overshadowing one blue eye and an annoyingly bland face showing nothing of his own feelings besides depression. Kira Izuru of squad 3. Like her, a lieutenant suddenly forced into command by the absence of the squad's true captain. _Gin..._

"Matsumoto", the lieutenant greeted her, characteristically dull. "Did you not hear the message relayed through the _Wakinari_ just now? It's dangerous to go any closer to the battle zone just yet- there's a Spirit Eater using powerful long-range attacks against any who come near."

She would have stomped his foot for saying such stupid things, but the last time they'd met things hadn't gone well. It just felt too uncomfortable to do that to him. "So what? You're just gonna stand here until the messenger says it's safe to go, Kira?" Her hands came up to her cheeks in shock. "My word, what if they're dead? We'll be waiting here... FOREVER!"

Izuru didn't laugh. "The messenger was from squad 6. He said to wait until Byakuya-taicho had taken care of the threat before proceeding."

_Byakuya. _Now _there_ was a sexy leader, even more attractive than Hitsugaya. _Too bad you can't just change squads to whichever one has the most handsome captain. _Realizing she'd gone starry-eyed, she stared over towards the smoke rising from the battle zone. "So... how long ago was that? No matter how cute he is, we can't just sit here and wait for him to give us the okay!"

Now Izuru looked scared. Meek, even. "I cannot risk the lives of my squad that way. Not after being given a direct order by my superior not to advance."

Twitch. She sighed in exasperation. "_You're_ the captain now, Kira. We both are. It's your squad. That means _you_ decide what's best, not Byakuya-taicho."

"Then I decide to wait until it is safe to advance."

She snorted. Impenetrable as ever, even when they were on the same side. "Well_ I_ choose to not be a dirty coward and do what we came here to do!" Her memory jarred. "This Spirit Eater... did they say what his name was?"

"Aluminum", one of Kira's people guessed uncertainly. "Something Aluminum...?"

"Hyn Alumirr", she corrected him, her back already twitching with the memory. "That guy... well it's your lucky day, Kira. I just so happen to have a way to keep us safe from him. I'd share it with your squad, but you're so determined to sit here and do nothing to help the others... they call _me_ lazy."

Izuru stepped forward with shocking speed, and Matusmoto had to remind herself that just because the 3rd squad lieutenant barely showed any emotions, that didn't mean he couldn't get angry. He was perhaps one of the only guys in Soul Society that her beauty wouldn't work on. "I'll take that as a yes?"

"If you are sure it will work", Izuru maintained his single uncovered eye rigidly still and focused. "I don't wish to insult you Miss Matsumoto, but even you have to admit you're not the most reliable of allies. I would think twice before putting the lives of those who trust me into your hands alone."

That stung... but given present company it was also the truth. _Still no Bankai. _She was a captain in position, not in form. Until poor Toshiro pulled out of that funk, she was all they had.

"Fine", she decided. "Follow us or don't- it's your choice. _We're_ going to go take down that Alumirr jerk, since it looks like Byakuya-taicho is too lazy to do it. Then the other squads can get here safely and we can finish this."

Without wasting any further time, she drew her weapon, the _Haineko, _ordering the guys to crowd around her- not that they needed much encouragement. _No Bankai_, she thought with a touch of regret. _But my Shikai will work here. Last time I didn't know he was there _**or**_ how his Ianzamento works. This time, though..._

"Alright. Growl... _Haineko_!"

The alley filled with smoke, particles that had once been the metal of her sword. And Izuru nodded in understanding. "A smoke shroud. He cannot shoot what he can't see."

She stuck out her tongue, careful to keep the mist away from her precious throat. "Too late to change your mind, emo-boy."

He shrugged. "I wasn't going to. We still don't know if the Spirit Eater tracks his targets by sight or through spiritual senses, or even some other method we haven't seen before. You may be running to your deaths."

She could sense some of her squad wavering over that, and tried to put a stop to it with a growl of her own. "Hey, I'd rather risk a little danger than sit here for hours with nothing to do! What kind of soul reaper runs away from a fight to defend our home?"

Izuru brushed hair away. "One who thinks beyond themselves, a task clearly too much for those muscleheads in squad 11."

The insult was clear enough there. On the other hand, her mind was made up. Changing it and turning tail now would make it look like Izuru was smarter than her. "Okay fine. We'll come back and tell you when it's safe to go. If I remember."

With that, the massive smoke cloud and the Shinigami protected inside it advanced into the war zone, only their sandals visible.

What the hell was she getting herself into?

* * *

><p>Sado 'Chad' Yasutora had fought with fear all of his life. When you took it on yourself to be a defender of the weak and the helpless, just as your <em>Abuelo<em> had wanted, one of the things required was to be able to resist your fear of being hurt, of pain. There was no way around it; it was just something he'd learned to deal with.

Until recently, combat-related fear had seemed like a distant memory for him, something other people spoke of, but not something that really affected him anymore. No matter how tough the opponent, if they attacked an innocent they would pay for it. He would defend them no matter how scary or numerous the bully.

_Then_ he'd met Captain Shunsui Kyoraku, one of the hundreds of obstacles to rescuing Rukia from her execution. The captain had been handsome and understanding and polite, and had _cut him down_. Effortlessly. Simply. As if all his training was worth nothing. It was a miracle he was even still standing here today.

Today, when that mortal fear that Kyoraku had reawakened in him hit harder than he'd known in all the time since then. Because now, he had to face another Soul Society captain in battle.

There was no choice. He'd gotten separated from Ichigo shortly after he'd begun duelling his 'double', the insane Reeve Pastell, and now he was the only one in a position to spot what was happening over near the east wall entryway to the _Rukongai_. The giant Nogrand Juno, whom he had actually fought before, watching as the beast-man Captain Sajin Komamura subjected one of squad 11's people to a savage beatdown without even using his sword.

So now he would face them both, the giant and the wolf-man. Because the alternative was to watch Yumichika die, to bear that guilt for the rest of his days... and _Abuelo _had taught him better than that.

Still, the base fear of Komamura had delayed Chad for nearly twenty seconds now. It was unheard of, existing on some level far beneath conscious thought Every cell in his muscled body seemed to be protesting attacking another captain of the Soul Society after what had happened to him the last time, and the brown-haired boy cursed his cowardice. _No choice. No choice. Take the giant first, use him as a shield, get him out of the way. It's your only chance of surviving more than ten seconds._

Brazo Derecha de Gigante was at his right arm, a fist of black and red as tough as steel. Brazo Izquierda Del Diablo his left, a covering of white armour even stronger than his right. Both the arms cooperated in helping him to lift one of the nearby houses, slowly at first then gradually faster.

With a loud cry, he flung the structure at his target, dashing in without waiting to see the reaction. Normally he would not have resorted to property damage, but this was a desperate time. If he lived through this, he would gladly spend days apologizing to the owner of the house, though at the rate things were going no structure in the south end would be left undamaged.

Nogrand Juno was slow to catch on, as if mesmerized by the way Komamura had been tearing into their mutual prey. His fists came up, but lacking the momentum to repel it. Instead he was showered with debris and dust, distracted from the massive white arm sprinting up towards his exposed chest.

The impact filled his ears and his head ached, but he did not hesitate, quickly moving his right arm into an uppercut. Ordinarily Komamura would have killed him by now, but the suspicions of how he'd come under the enemy's control turned out to be true- he was acting on animal instincts as deeply buried as Chad's mortal fear. _That_ was what was subverting his will.

And whoever was doing that hadn't taught him anything about who _not_ to attack- his sword lashed out, striking the massive being Chad had put himself behind and drawing blood. Another full-on blow from El Diablo knocked Nogrand stumbling backwards into the angry captain, who showed his displeasure by putting another nice long slash into the giant's flank. Lying on the ground the machine-like Spirit Eater yet looked defiant, but he wouldn't be interfering any time soon.

Komamura snarled, growling and frothing like a true wolf as he turned his blank white eyes to the new arrival. New meat that looked more troublesome than the old. Yumichika wasn't moving and covered in blood, but he was alive at least. "Animal instincts", Chad repeated, trying to calm his fear with any reason he might possibly win. "A wolf-man. _Not_ the calculating mind of a captain, even if you remembered how to wield your sword properly."

Of course, that worked both ways. _The more complex a person, the weaker they are._

Shunsui had been trying hard _not _to kill him. He'd seen Chad as a misguided member of the _Ryoka_ rebels, and done all he could to avoid excessive violence on that day. Under this malicious influence, Sajin Komamura would scream and slash and claw and even bite him in order to kill. There was nothing at all holding him back.

Could he do this? Did he, a mortal, even have a chance against a Shinigami captain? The fear said no. The fear told him to run and save himself from a futile, pointless, and extremely painful death.

Across from him, Komamura snarled and bared rows of jagged teeth- feral animals could smell fear. They didn't like it. _No choice_, Sado reminded himself, then screamed and charged.

* * *

><p>Barton Eishinshi felt ridiculous. For hours now he had stood on the main road from the south gate with Yui Alumirr and Demalza Sanhas, being assigned along with the former to protect the latter, who remained sitting with her eyes closed in concentration.<p>

He had the appearance of a senior citizen. He was the furthest thing away from a violent man, but with all these battles erupting all around them even he was finding it difficult to sit still. He could only imagine how hard it would be for Yui.

Actually, he didn't have to imagine. He could sense her resentment from here. "C'mon", she seethed, beholding the duel between Reeve and Ichigo with mixed interest. "C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon C'MOOOOOON! Someone! ANYONE! Fight meeee! I want to kick someone's butt!"

He raised his thin walking stick, not wishing to risk having her decide to take it out on him, but also knowing their objective, gesturing to it. "Your brother's orders were very clear, milady Alumirr", Barton said sternly. "Miss Demalza is to be protected at any cost. The slightest injury or distraction, and she could very well lose her concentration, her control over the beast-captain."

That silenced her for a few minutes, in which she took to hopping around rabbit-like to work off the tension. "Then you do it old man. I can't take this any longer."

Shrugging neutrally, he turned to the objective in question. She still looked grieved, but not so much as she had hours ago. "How about it, lady Sanhas? What's the status with sir Komamura?"

"Angry", she grunted out after several seconds, sounding a fair bit like an angry animal herself. "I'm setting off all his predator instincts now that Nogrand's gone down. He'll kill everything he sees."

Yui frowned. "That blue-haired dandy beat Nogrand? I don't believe it."

"No, there's another. Not a Shinigami, a human. One of Kurosaki Ichigo's friends."

That brightened the younger girl's face. "Ooh. Even better than a soul reaper. I'll just go beat on him then. It's not that emotional twat Orihime, is it? I never liked her."

Barton sighed. "No you won't. Perhaps you didn't hear that Komamura-taicho is attacking everything he sees at the moment. That includes you, lady Alumirr. Your powers are required for plan C."

Yui rolled her eyes. "And the big guy's are for plan B, but you let him go get knocked out."

"He'll live", Demalza cut in, eyes closing again to concentrate. "Patience. Once he defeats this one I'll send him here."

Yui looked as though she wished to say more, but a sudden eruption cut her off. Another structure erupting into debris from destructive power being vented upon it, followed by a geyser of furious pink rising into the sky for all to see.

Despite her concentration, Demalza managed a laugh at that. "So I see Byakuya Kuchiki made it out. Still so eager to pick a fight, brat?"

Yui had no reply. The mass of vibrant pink hovered there for a few moments, then flew off in search of the one which had nearly destroyed it. "Stay safe... bro."

* * *

><p>The pit was vast. Ichigo had never seen one such mine up close before, but the duel with Reeve had been even more destructive than he'd figured. They'd fallen from shattered walkways, into the underground chamber where exposed metals still shone in the morning sun. Various bits of crude mining equipment surrounded the two, and for a moment he felt guilt at the certainty that some of it would be smashed by stray waves of <em>reiatsu<em>.

On the other hand, he was winning. As weird as it had been to fight an opponent who looked and acted like a mirror, it was a mirror missing crucial pieces. Once he'd accounted for the difference, he'd gotten several deep slashes beneath the black coat, without taking any on his own undershirt and bandages.

_His_ black coat. The one he'd worn into countless battles, now hanging off Reeve's shoulders. "Tatsuki stole that", he demanded. "Give it back!"

Naturally, Reeve shook his orange-dyed head. "This is my coat, _Reigai_. If you were going to impersonate me, you should've at least brought one of your own." Another lunge accompanied the denial, but when that was easily beaten back, he stared hard at the stump of his other hand. "If you're really me, as you claim, then you'll be able to control your Inner Hollow and don that power-enhancing mask. But I bet you can't even do that, can you?"

An obvious dare. But with the number of other duels going on, ending this one as fast as possible was the way to go. He would be needed above ground, he was sure of it. "Heheh... I was just about to say the same thing to you. Let's do it."

Reeve had no choice but to momentarily sheathe his weapon to reach up to his head, waiting until he was sure Ichigo was doing the same before dropping his guard. _Makes sense_, Ichigo considered even as he reached to the back of his mind for the emotional state he would always associate with that mask, and his inner Hollow. _If he's supposed to be me, he knows I wouldn't sneak-attack someone who had sheathed their weapon. Well... not unless they really deserved it._

The mask should have been stifling, a foreign intruder attaching itself to his face, blocking the air and casting a yellow haze across his vision. Instead- or maybe disturbingly- it felt _natural_. Like his own face had simply grown a bit and become numb, gotten a bit closer to the massive gaping jaws of a Hollow.

When it was fully formed on his face, his eyes boggled beneath it. Facing him was the exact same mask, only devoid of the red markings that always adorned it. The duplicate mask was completely bone-white, though he had never bothered checking the significance of why the Hollow mask's red marks changed over time.

More shocking was his opponent's missing hand. There was a new one where the bandaged stump had been, a twisted claw of the same bone white that now gripped the handle of the fake _Zangetsu_ like he'd known this would happen from the start.

"Hn...? You can Hollowfy too...?"

"That's my line, _Reigai_", his twin snarled back, voice just as distorted by the mask as his own. "The Vizard taught me. They're a bunch of pains in the ass, but they knew how to control their inner Hollows."

This wasn't some trick- from the moment the duel resumed he could see the difference in every slash and parry. For the first time, he could sense his own spiritual power as a separate entity. _Wonderful. All we need now is a bunch of glass skyscrapers to fight on._

The wood of the mining equipment was not nearly so inexplicably durable as his own mental realm however, and before long much of it was shattered by the merest brush of each swing of the blade. A rope was cut, a pulley flying up to dislodge a cart full of strange gems raining down as they fought, a bundle of logs set loose to roll along the ground and make footing doubly treacherous. Both of them bore it all in silent determination, neither giving way.

"Enough!", he growled at last. His friends were still up there, fighting equally tough opponents. They could be dying. They could be fighting _Tatsuki_, in which case either outcome would end in tears. "Let's see you copy this! GETSUGAAA... TENSHO!"

_I just had to say it. _Surely enough, the familiar wave of black flame had not crossed half the distance between them before Reeve brought his own sword up, and screamed back with equal volume: "GETSUGAAA... TENSHO!"

They had succeeded in ravaging the mine with the combined backlash of the two massive waves of energy crashing together. But Reeve did not look any more spent than he was. "Hey... good imitation there. But I thought that _Reigai_ were supposed to be stronger than the original version."

"Yeah well, they're also supposed to have glowing blue eyes!", he snapped back at Reeve, in no mood for his annoying arguments over who was the real deal. Nothing he did or said would convince him of the truth, and just trying to refute him was as irritating as...

_As when..._

As when they'd met.

Ichigo smiled. He sheathed his sword, and raised his hands. "Alright. You win."

His twin looked shocked, nearly dropping his own weapon. "Seriously? You just give up? Then you admit that I'm the real Ichigo. The real me who would never surrender, _Reigai_. You can't even get that part right. It's not that I want to win..."

"-I have to win", he finished Reeve's stolen line sadly. "When _Zangetsu_- the real _Zangetsu_- is your _Zanpakuto_, you have to win every single battle. You can't ever give up, no matter how badly the odds are against you. To hell with the consequences, right?"

"That's right", Reeve nodded, again surprised at his twin's knowledge. "_Zanpakuto_ are supposed to be extensions of their holder's soul, right? They develop their own individual spirits. Shame that mine just had to be a cranky old man. Reflection of my own soul, huh?"

Every word was his own, something that he might say. But now that courage was leading his duplicate into a trap. "Can I see him, then? If that's the real thing, then you should be able to call old man _Zangetsu_ out of the blade."

_Not that easy. _Reeve scoffed, amused by the request. "He doesn't come when I call. I told you, he's not my slave. He comes when he feels like it."

"Really?" He couldn't stop the lopsided grin working its way onto his face. He'd won. All he'd had to do was create a trap that _he_ would fall for if an opponent ever used it on him. "You're sure about that?"

And Zangetsu answered him. The spirit that dwelled within his blade sensed what he was trying to do, taking on its familiar appearance of an old man with long, dark brown hair and a solemn face.

The old man didn't say anything. It wasn't required. His appearance alone was enough to make Reeve's eyes become huge with shock. "Th... that's impossible! _This_ is Zangetsu, right here!"

"But you don't sense the spirit inside of it", he said. "What does that tell you?"

He'd hit a nerve. He could tell from the start he would. Reeve was furious, glaring hard at Zangetsu's spirit as if he could make it go away by sheer anger. "It tells me that you're a thief. You stole my _Zanpakuto _somehow, replaced it with this one. _That _explains why it hasn't been working like I remember. It's a damned fake. Give it back! Now!"

Reeve lunged. A careless lunge easily dodged, unthinkingly driven by the separation from the sword he believed to be his own... and more. "_Zangetsu_'s a tough taskmaster all right", Ichigo chuckled calmly, ending his leap on a pile of debris. It was like watching a less-learned version of himself, making all the same dumb mistakes, ideologically and physically. "He demands victory every time. But he's also an extension of my own soul. Which means that deep down, beneath everything else... our desires are the same. That was what I learned in my trial. But go ahead, if you still think you're me... take it, and call on its power."

Without hesitating, as if hearing _Zangetsu_'s approval, he threw the blade into the ground, kicking up dust everywhere. Discarding his shinier duplicate, Reeve slowly lowered his hand down, clearly suspecting a trap.

Once he'd taken the layered hand grip however, all his hesitation vanished and he drew the blade upward triumphantly. "This is the real one", his twin proclaimed in absolute confidence, a surge of something like joy at their reunion. "The real _Zangetsu_, the black flame..."

"Can you use it?"

The words, so casually uttered, brought Reeve up short. He stared back at Ichigo, then into his own reflection in the blade's black metal. "You stole my weapon, _Reigai_. You played games with my head, pretending to be me. But y'know, I'm a good guy. If you go away, if you run now... I'll spare your life."

The soul reaper didn't move. His arms were folded. "But you didn't answer what I said- _can you use __it_? Call out _Zangetsu_'s power, show me that you're the real thing. That's what you'll have to do to drive me away."

The trap was snapped shut. It happened exactly as he'd figured it would, and all the more saddening to see because of it. His twin started out with the basic proven methods, simply invoking_ Zangetsu_'s name, then mentally commanding it to show up as it had when the 'Reigai' had held it in his hands. Then he became angrier, shouting to the weapon louder than before. Smacking it into rocks and planks in frustration proved equally ineffective.

Finally, Reeve fell to pleading, begging to the sword to respond to him. And now Ichigo had to turn his head from that pitiful sight. However many times his teachers- _Yoruichi-san, Mr. Hat and Clogs, Shinji...- _had broken him down in order to teach him something new, seeing it happen to a near-copy of himself was a whole new ordeal. It made him wonder just how hard-hearted each of them had to be, to be able to look at those stricken young eyes dead on and say 'NO'.

_It's a fact of life_, he reminded himself. _Just like with Zangetsu. To teach someone new ways of thinking and fighting, especially someone stubborn like me, you have to be a real cold bastard sometimes. I don't think I ever want to be a teacher._

A tortured sob went up from Reeve and for a moment Ichigo thought the worst was over. His raised his head up out of his covering arms... and nearly lost it to the swipe aimed at his shoulder.

His twin was broken, alright. Broken and deranged and only interested in killing the person who had done this to him, swinging _Zangetsu_ in a frenzy, screaming denial in Ichigo's own voice. "This is an illusion", he ranted desperately, eyes bulging. "It's all an illusion. All of it! JUST TO MAKE ME DOUBT MYSELF! IT'S ALL AN ILLUSION AND IT'LL STOP WHEN I KILL YOU!"

* * *

><p>Mayuri Kurotsuchi would not perform the experiments that Zatsua had asked him for at the Research and Development institute. Instead, he led the group out of the building, on a trip away from the main city of the Soul Society. "Too many blasted interruptions", the black and white-faced soul reaper claimed, grinning with the irony of the claim. "I have another, more private facility where we can do this in peace and quiet. It's such a burden sometimes, being a genius of my caliber... no one understands, though I suppose they don't need to."<p>

Zatsua did her best to empathize with his twisted viewpoints for the whole journey whenever she wasn't recording her logs. To Tatsuki's surprise, Mayuri did not comment at all on the harsh words Zatsua painted his homeland with, merely keeping to himself as Verdade continued rolling. But she would not ask why- the 12th squad captain still creeped her out too much for that.

Finally, they came upon the structure he had spoken of, initially appearing to be nothing more than a mountain cave out in the wilderness. Inside however, lay a far larger arrangement of chambers not unlike the facility in Naruki City, though still possessed of the Shinigami's weird organic architectural sense, curving lines of bone-like substances every which way, framing monitors of every shape and size. "Of course Central 46 has no idea that this place exists", Zatsua guessed smugly. "It's your secret."

"Naturally", Mayuri nodded with a forlorn sigh. "Those short-sighted fools have placed bans on the traffic of certain subjects and substances, not realizing that by doing so they place a finite limit on what we can accomplish here! This is my Sanctuary." Once all the lights had come to life and given the chamber a strange violet tint, the man clasped his hands. "We begin!"

"Already?", Tatsuki exclaimed. "Geez, can't you just wait a little while for us to get settled?"

The Shinigami's yellow eye twitched as he screeched. "_Silence_! You're just a minion, you don't get to decide when and where I begin my projects! Even a fool such as Nemu knows better than to talk back to me like-"

The girl tensed, ready to defend herself if Mayuri's rant turned ugly. She was nearly as shocked as the scientist to see _Lanis_ taking it a step further. His arm simply slid out into the man's angry mouth, socking him silent before uppercutting with the other. Not satisfied with that, he flew over behind the fallen captain, twisting one arm behind his white cloak.

"You misunderstand the circumstances of our _regatea_, mon _Capitan"_, the seer grunted out after _Ashogi Jizo_'s spear punctured his skin in retaliation. "I have already forseen which _velenos_ you use against _intrusos_, and have had _meu mestre_ innoculate us against them. _All_ of them. Including that sleeping gas you have hidden in the rafters of this room, ready to be released on your word."

Verdade and Tatsuki both stared in alarm. The seer had never shown this kind of enthusiasm for punishing their enemies before, nor this level of legibility. Zatsua merely smiled encouragingly at him. "Don't be so shocked, my children. Tapping into the spiritual energy of this dimension has massively enhanced all of your powers. Not only has it partially restored Lanis' sanity to him, but upgraded his precognition abilities as well."

"Precognition." Despite having a blade to his throat, Mayuri sounded intrigued. "Precognition? Truly? I'll do whatever else you require of me without issue human, if you first give me the chance to dissect this fascinating young man and see what gives him his power."

Zatsua shook her head. "_After_ you keep to your word. When Lanis is satisfied that you've given me the power I want without any nasty side-effects. That's why he's here, you see. To keep you from double-crossing us, as I'm sure you were planning to do from the moment you agreed to this deal. He's the one who saw you doing this in the future. He proclaimed the only way I would ever be able to fight alongside my creations is if I hired you."

"I see..." The captain looked slightly deflated by all this new information, but had lost none of his pride after Lanis released him and he straightened up. "You've thought of everything. I approve. But I accept no responsibility if I take too long because of meaningless delays like this one. True genius _cannot_ be rushed! Or placed under duress!"

"You can bluster when you're done", Tatsuki growled, now irked enough by the man's performance to risk a little display of her own, crushing one of the less important-looking machines with her bare hands. "Right now, you're here to work. That is... if you're ready, Zatsua-sensei. I don't trust this snake, not one bit."

"I'm ready", Zatsua replied gravely, already discarding her brown overcoat, leaving a beige undershirt and black pants. "I must admit I'm frightened, but this is no time to be prudish. Lanis will make sure he doesn't try anything sneaky. If he acts out, it will be your job to keep him in line, Number One."

" 'Keep me in line' ", Mayuri could only growl. "I take it back. You are all nothing but senseless brutes. I should never have agreed to this foolishness."

Lanis decked him. Approving, Zatsua nodded. "I'd watch your mouth, Kurotsuchi. In the event that you should refuse to cooperate, the backup plan is for Lanis or Tatsuki to drain your knowledge and _reiatsu_ and perform the procedure in person."

"Senseless brutes", he repeated defiantly.

Tatsuki was relieved they wouldn't need to do the backup plan and wondering if it was truly necessary for Zatsua to do this when a sudden impact took her in the chest. The force of it had come from absolutely _nowhere_ and was strong enough to toss her into the air, though karate instincts suggested it was a spin kick.

"_Pantasma?",_ Lanis guessed frantically before the same strike knocked him sprawling. Zatsua turned- not towards Mayuri to accuse him of some hidden defensive measure Lanis had not foreseen, but to the tiny figure standing upright at the door where daylight was still streaming through, silhouetting it.

A cat, Tatsuki saw. A black cat who had somehow followed them in without being detected. Had she really just had the wind knocked out of her by a _cat_?

"Time to close up shop, Mayuri", the cat commanded in a defiant male voice. "Whatever you're doing with Zatsua... it's not happening."

As had become his rote, the captain screeched in outrage at this new intruder. "URRRRAAAAGH! IDIOTS! HOW COULD YOU MUSH-BRAINED FOOLS LET HER IN HERE? NOW SHE'LL RUIN EVERYTHING!"

_She?_

Zatsua, at least, was not quite as confused or enraged by all this. She stared into the cat's glistening eyes, prompting Verdade to step out of the way. "It's you."

"It's me." The cat shifted strangely, twisting in the light before resolving into the solemn form of Yoruichi Shihoin, the purple-haired assassin who had just floored them both. "I've come to undo my mistake, Jutani Zatsua."

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks for the review HMMaster. Just when you thought Reeve couldn't get any crazier, eh? The duel will be resolved next chapter, along with other things, though now that I think about it a lot of the villains will be having similar breakdowns eventually. It's very dramatic when done right, like with Barragan and Nnoitra.<p> 


	20. Part 20: What Can You See in Their Eyes

Part 20: What Can You See In Their Eyes

* * *

><p><em>Begin log.<em>

_Jutani Zatsua: I can only imagine what that mistake might have been. Failing to kill me when you had the chance, Shinigami?_

_Purple-haired Woman: Failing to take notice of the human girl who could see ghosts. Because of my mistake, you've grown up believing a horrible lie. I didn't kill your family, Jutani._

_Jutani Zatsua: (Pauses, then smiles) Hm. Thank you. I always knew that would be the first sign that my Spirit Eaters are winning, if the all-mighty Shinigami try to lie to get me to call them off. A bit too late for that, my dear, charming, murderess. Twenty years too late._

_Purple-haired Woman: It's the truth. And it's my fault didn't tell you before, but please. Don't make everyone suffer for your personal grudge. You have to accept the truth!_

_Unknown Voice: She won't. She always was such a stubborn girl. Like her mother._

_Jutani Zatsua: (Pauses, looks around frantically) Verdade turn off that camera for pity's sake!_

* * *

><p>No one moved. The two Spirit Eaters, who had since recovered and made ready in case Yoruichi attacked again, looked just as confused as their 'creator'. First the stealth assassin, now she'd brought another ghost along to help stop whatever she and Mayuri were planning?<p>

Seeing their faces, the Shinigami shrugged nonchalantly, glancing around at the various strange bits of machinery. "Forgot to mention, I brought help. I had a feeling you'd be hard to convince. Looks like I was right."

"And by 'convince', you mean 'force' ", Zatsua, looking out the entryway for her enemy's companion as he emerged, a figure cloaked from head to toe in dull, dusty gray fabric. "Did you bring a soul reaper lieutenant along with you, Yoruichi Shihoin? A captain, perhaps? My Number One needs a workout for her new _Ianzamento_."

Tatsuki closed her eyes brown tight upon hearing that. For once, she hated being hailed as the number one strongest Spirit Eater. Was she going to have to fight and hurt yet _another_ close friend of Ichigo? It wouldn't be a fight she could pull her punches in; Zatsua was counting on her to be _strong_, in body and mind, to be the final barricade between herself and Soul Society's squads of trained killers...

The new arrival didn't move with the speed she'd come to expect from the Shinigami though. He didn't show any hint of attack, throwing up both hands in surrender. "Lady Yoruichi is right. I'm not here to fight. This is actually a privilege for me, to be able visit the Soul Society in person. Look around you, _Juti_... this is a place of great beauty, an entire separate world untainted by human hand, eternally preserved by the power of the Spirit King. And you want to destroy it all, just for some insane grudge?"

No one there could miss the way Zatsua had frozen up when the man said 'Juti'. On the other hand, she regained her composure just as quickly, adjusting her mirrored glasses and staring directly into the man's cowl. "You know that name?"

The man seemed to be waiting for Yoruichi's signal, clearly subservient to her. Seeing her nod in the affirmative, he spread his hands emphatically. "Don't you remember, _Juti_? That was what I called you, even if your mother felt you were too old for nicknames."

That rocked her. The twin mirrors fell down, revealing intense eyes beneath, on the verge of tears. "...Daddy?"

He threw back the hood. Tatsuki and Lanis had not seen the face before, but even before then it was clear. Only one voice could have affected their creator and leader in such a way. The face belonging to that gruff-sounding voice who was staring back at her now with serene eyes.

The face of Genkinto Zatsua, 2nd head of the Spirit Eater program.

* * *

><p>Not long ago in one of their rare amiable talks with each other, a fellow captain had summarized Kenpachi Zaraki's technique as simplicity itself. Most of the time that was no doubt meant as an insult, but it was something he'd had to agree with.<p>

No _Shunpo_. No_ Kido_. No _Shikai_ or _Bankai_. Only Kendo, the most basic form of swordplay in existence. Simplicity itself. That is its power.

For once however, he regretted not having the smarts to learn anything flashier. That would have at least made the duel slightly more interesting. After painfully learning the trick to avoid having Kreig Tsubaku's black lightning chain into his katana and shock him, there really wasn't much else to do. He'd continued humouring the young Spirit Eater for a while, waiting for him to whip out some new ability or power, but now it was clear even to him that this really was all he had.

"This is really annoying", the man grumbled, blasting the boy back with a sweep of his blade. "I should've just gone after Ichigo. Or Not-Ichigo. Whatever he is. That would've been way more interesting than this. We're done."

But whatever his faults, Krieg had not once given up. Again he forced himself to stand and ignore the various slash wounds that had accumulated on his body and the way his insides were heaving. "N...no... I'm not done!"

Kenpachi shrugged. "You crazy, kid? Unless you've been holding something back all this time, it's pretty clear you can't entertain me anymore. This is just boring- you're way too weak."

Kreig wasn't holding anything back. You could see it in his eyes, and no one with a brain would have gone losing for this long without unleashing everything they had anyway. A paltry few bolts streaked from his hand, only to be blunted by another swipe. "D-don't. Don't go!", Kreig panted. "I'll fight you to the end!"

This time he didn't even dignify him with a response, turning around calmly with his katana over his shoulder and surveying the scene around them. There were a fair number of other duels going on, all of them more explosive than this one. He thought he'd seen captain Byakuya fighting someone around here, same for one of Ichigo's weak human friends.

His single eye stopped on the three Spirit Eaters who didn't seem to be attacking anyone, just sitting there helplessly. A girl in black, a woman in a uniform and a stooped, white-haired old man... surely one of those three had to be stronger than this kid. "HOI! Yachiru! Which of those ones would you say is the strongest?"

"Got it! Ken-chan!" His bubblegum pink-haired sidekick had been perched on the nearby roof the whole time, watching the duel with her usual enthusiasm. Now she turned her bright eyes to the group of three as well, equally curious. They _were_ a team after all, and she would never steer him towards a weak opponent. That was no fun at all, as demonstrated by the poor kid he'd just humiliated.

None of them offered any real clues. Only the older woman was emitting any kind of _reiatsu_ signature, and that wasn't directed at anything nearby. Her eyes were closed in concentration, and the other two looked to be guarding her.

"Oh, whatever", he grumbled impatiently. "I'll just take all three of 'em."

"The old man with the beard, Ken-chan!", his lieutenant suggested eagerly. "Renji-kun said he's real strong!"

"Huh... That so...?" His trademark grin returned. Lieutenant Abarai's reputation wasn't too bad. If _he_ was afraid of that white-bearded Spirit Eater's power, then Kenpachi was willing to overlook his kindly appearance and cut right to the chase. The man was currently using a walking stick to hold himself up, but the same was usually true for Head Captain Yamamoto. _In this place_, he noted, his grin widening across his entire scarred face, _old folks are tough as nails most of the time._

"HOI! Old-timer! This kid is too boring. You ready to fight?"

The old man and his allies looked to have only noticed him now, and tensed at his approach. "A captain", the old man remarked in obvious fear. "A ferocious and savage one. Stand back please, lady Alumirr."

"Let me think", the orange-eyed girl disputed. "How 'bout NO. Finally! A chance to kick some-"

"Shut UP", the third one growled behind them, teeth grinding, once again sounding closer to an extremely angry dog who had learned to speak. "For once in your life actually LOOK before you leap. Can't you tell that he's beyond you?"

"He may well be beyond any of us", Barton Eishinshi noted sadly. "Still, I shall do my professional best with what I have." Raising his white walking stick, he turned back to Kenpachi. "I don't suppose we can convince you to wait awhile longer, Shinigami? Soon enough, miss Sanhas can bring you a real opponent to test your mettle."

" 'A while' ", the captain repeated. " 'Soon enough'? I'm bored already here."

"I see." Barton's eyes darkened. "Then I shall be your opponent now."

Kenpachi leaped, descending to the street level. "Glad to hear it. Don't think I'll go easy on you, gramps."

Confirming his suspicions, Barton brought up his walking stick, carefully sliding the bottom third off, revealing it to be hollow. Contained within, a straight, efficient-looking blade gleamed in the sunlight, thick enough to substitute for the discarded shell if need be.

It wouldn't have to now, though. The stolen energy he'd called on to keep himself standing without it couldn't be ignored even by Kenpachi, the release of a powerful _Ianzamento_, augmented by the energies of this dimension... "I certainly hope that not all Soul Society captains are bloodthirsty as you, _sir_ Zaraki", Barton noted in regret with only a touch of genuine anger. "I despise violence. _You_ seem to seek it out with abandon, regardless of whom you have to hurt. We are at opposites, you and I."

In more than one way, the huge man acknowledged. The white beard really did make his new target look jolly and friendly. The mess of scars on his own rugged face wouldn't get him a date any time soon.

Not that he cared much. Combat was his true love. All Kenpachi Zaraki required was good, challenging, bloody fights to be completely content with his lot. _Hopefully the old-timer will be-_

A sudden shift in the _reishi_ currents stopped them both, and Kenpachi realized that he was wrong. There _was_ one other thing he needed to be happy.

And now the kid was up there, threatening the livelihood of that thing, draining away energy with only a touch of the skin, eagerly gobbling it up to replenish his own reserves. As with Ichigo, the strength to resist it had been the first thing to be taken away, growing weaker with each passing second.

"Ken... Chan...!"

* * *

><p>Now the mirror was complete. In his time, Ichigo Kurosaki had to admit he'd come up against some amazing and terrible things. Things that made fighting the Hollow of the day look like nothing, made you forget that they were evil souls that could swallow a normal human up with no effort.<p>

He'd seen things that saddened him and things that terrified him, things that drove him to true despair. He'd seen people- a few of them his friends- _break_ from the stress of it all.

He was strong. He'd never been broken... at least not irreparably. But at least now he knew what it would look like from the outside. Instead of giving up or slumping down to face his ultimate fate, he would charge the one guilty of the breaking, eyes wide as the gaps in his defence, screaming in denial and foregoing all strategy.

He could name a dozen fighters, both friends and enemies, who could have taken advantage of this crazed state and struck him down with one final, telling blow.

And he was one of them. The mirror was complete. Now _he_ was the strategist, the thinking fighter ducking away from each random slash and making it look easy to the chagrin of the orange-haired brute. He was the one watching himself become even more frustrated with every miss. _No wonder Mr. Hat-and-Clogs enjoyed it so much._ Urahara had led him on in their sparring sessions, looking to all appearances like a flailing goofball that somehow dodged every single time. The sight of it was like an adrenalin rush, egging him on to humiliate his opponent further and further.

All the same, this cruelty wasn't the goal. Remembering at last that he didn't have unlimited time, Ichigo shifted away from a clumsy descending slash... and then moved back into place. Now the black sword would strike him in the left shoulder going down across his chest to shred the bandages and pierce his lungs.

Or it would have, had the sword in question not been _Zangetsu_.

Instead, there was simply a numbing sensation traced across his bandages, past the ribcage and out through the leg. No lasting damage, not even a trickle of blood. The black blade of everlasting conflict would not harm its true master, not after he'd already won this fight.

And Reeve Pastell stopped. "How...?", he whispered, quivering between the fury he'd been in and a growing terror. "How...?"

"You said it yourself", he replied, unable to resist a bit of teasing. "It's an illusion. All of it."

"All...?"

"Arrancar, Shinigami, Hollows, Rukia, Orihime, Tatsuki, Chad, Yuzu, Karin, dad, everything."

His twin stared wide-eyed. It was clear he wanted to leap up and howl and rage- _something_. Anything. But the stillness of the cave ate his breath, his will, his anger. It swallowed every protest he could have made against this singular, solid fact.

"Then I'm... nothing."

"Yep." Ichigo nodded at him sadly. "Absolutely nothing."

Fresh memories of the callous thug he'd fought before had stopped him from feeling any pity for him before now, but he could see it wasn't quite that simple. He couldn't see a trace of Reeve in _this_ person. Only a mirror. A mirror that he had just broken.

Reeve dropped_ Zangetsu_, letting the weapon fall into the dust with an empty thud. "I'm nothing. Nothing at all. I can... stop."

Ichigo spread his arms. Not quite an appeal or a welcome. More 'permission' to go ahead with what he knew was going to happen. _In his shoes, I'd do the same. _What was he without something to protect?

"I'll stop now, then... Goodbye."

His duplicate slept. Breathing out again, Ichigo recovered his weapon, sheathing it after checking for scratches. _Lesson learned- I __**really**__ don't want to be a teacher. Especially if I ever have to teach another lesson like that. _

A few short stretches followed, as he knew perfectly well he only had a short break before the fallen body would return to life. Exactly how long there was no way to tell, but refusing to finish what he'd started never went well, and went against the credo of _Zangetsu_ besides.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of relaxation the other man's eyes popped open again. He stood, brushed his hair back. A new aggressiveness, a new personality controlled his movements. One all too familiar. _Great, now I get to see what my body would be like possessed by a total jerk, as if the last one wasn't freaky enough._

But Reeve's opening movements didn't indicate revenge. He looked closely at his hands, then back at Ichigo in wonderment, speaking in his own drawl once more. "Huh... you really did it. You... saved me. Why?"

A good question. Ichigo shrugged, a motion to buy time while he thought of some kind of answer. "My memories, my sword. I couldn't help feeling a little guilty, even if it was completely _your_ fault, you bastard."

The Spirit Eater smiled. It was his own smile, not the one he'd borrowed from Ichigo. "Well, uh. Thanks. I guess I owe you one."

"Go back to Naruki City and never bother anyone again and we're even", Ichigo offered, immediately feeling a sense of Deja Vu. Once again he'd beaten this guy, and again his unwillingness to just execute him resulted in discomfort all around.

Then the man's fist flew out, far faster than he'd been when they'd fought on the train tracks long ago, to take him in the cheek and drive him back.

-_jeering voices, wild hooting-_

He might have countered it had the sensation of bone pressing into flesh not been accompanied by a rush of sensory input. It also left him open to a second hit from Reeve's other fist.

-_cowering in shadows, drinking, running from blaring sirens-_

His arms flew down and grabbed the Spirit Eater's sleeves in a vicegrip. "Okay, NO. No more of that. What the hell?"

Reeve chuckled merrily, as if they were old friends. "I said I owe you one. I decided to repay you the best way I could- by giving back all the _reiatsu_ I took from you. At least, all the power I didn't use up when we were fighting. You notice, don't you?"

Ichigo paused, clutching his tender cheek with one hand. He _did _feel stronger. Whatever amounts of spiritual power he'd used up fighting his doppelganger were completely restored. He felt like a new man- like he hadn't even fought at all. "You could've warned me, bastard."

Shrug. "I'm an impulsive guy, Kurosaki. You should know that much already."

A chorus of alarm bells went off in his head hearing that and he stepped away, no longer trusting himself to keep a firm grip on the Spirit Eater's deadly hands. "You said 'already'? You mean...?"

He groaned. The proof was already there inside his head. Flashes. Fragments of memories not his own, images and sounds from another life. All that from less than a second of skin contact. "_Reiatsu_ and memories too. The exact opposite of draining me. I didn't know you could do that."

"Not often", Reeve admitted slyly. "But I can't sleep through _all _the doc's lessons on how to use our powers. What'd ya see? I'm curious."

Nothing concrete. And certainly nothing he'd like to share with an enemy. "None of your business. My offer still stands. Go back to Naruki. I know you don't care about the other Spirit Eaters- you don't care about anyone but yourself. So back to your home and don't bother anyone ever again."

Reeve lowered his eyes and visibly sagged. It was a new movement for him, though Ichigo was watching him carefully for another surprise punch. "No... that's not really true. Not no more."

Losing patience, he turned around. "Who?"

"You." Realizing what he'd said, the young man shook his head to clear it. "Everyone you care about. This... I still know _everything_, Kurosaki. About your whole life."

"Enjoy it", came the best sarcastic reply he could muster in the face of this weirdness. "Hope it keeps you warm at night."

But the enemy didn't laugh, and for the first time Ichigo looked at him more seriously. "I mean it. Your life... everyone you love. That's why I wanted it so badly. You're so _lucky_, Kurosaki, and you don't even realize it. I would've given anything... _anything_ to have what you have. People like you. They actually like you, no matter how hard you try to push 'em away. You have a mom and dad who look after you, sisters and friends who love you..."

"Look if you're going somewhere with this, get to the point", he cut in. "I know all that. It's my duty to protect all of them. From evil freaks like you."

Reeve seemed to realize only then that he was still wearing Ichigo's black Shinigami coat. Casting it off, he combed down his hair as well, to make it look less like a copy. The orange hair dye would take longer, turning back into its natural teal colour over the next few days, but at least he no longer looked like a fun house mirror of Ichigo. "Compared to all that... I'm nothing. My life is just shit upon shit. I just didn't know until now. Drugs, booze, girls, fighting, running from the cops. Compared to that, your life, your family, your friends... they're worth protecting."

Having donned his coat and charting a way to climb out of the mine with a few leaps, Ichigo paused, his brow arching. "Ohh no. No no no no NO. You are _not_-"

The Spirit Eater leaped up to the outcropping of rock he'd moved up to with the same fantastic agility, showing that he hadn't quite ditched_ all _the stolen Shinigami power. His smile was not a copy of Ichigo's or his ususal grimace of self-love and cynicism. It was genuine, perhaps the first real, genuine smile he'd had in many years.

Not that he couldn't appreciate how much of an amusing headache it would all be to Ichigo. "I'm with you, _boss_. I swear I've changed. I'm a new man. Whatever you protect, I'll protect. Whatever you fight, I'll help you kick its butt. You know I'm tough. Your story has to go on. It's worth way more than mine, and I want to see why that is."

"You're a Naruki street punk that Zatsua turned into a living anti-Shinigami weapon", came his final argument, complete with rolling eyes. "You killed innocent people for _fun_. What makes you think that I or my friends would have anything to do with you?"

"So show me a better way", he implored, looking up at him from the ledge below. "I've seen your whole life, remember boss. With a mug like _that_, more than one person's said the same thing to you. 'You're street trash that won't amount to anything because you get into fights all the time, kids these days, blah blah blah, horseshoes, dinosaur, World War II'. I've heard it before."

"Except in your case it's the truth."

"How come?"

His vision cleared, and he found himself looking down the cliff again. The young man beneath him wasn't on his hands and knees, but he could sense the same effect in his tone. And for once, blast it, he couldn't think of a good way of proving him wrong.

Did that mean that he was right?

Ichigo grunted once, trying to expel with it his loathing of the Spirit Eater behind him. "Alright, FINE. You win this time. But the moment that you act out of line, or drain someone, or scare Inoue, or do anything at all that might hurt my friends, I'll cut you in half myself. You've seen all my memories, so you know I'm not bluffing. Am I clear?"

Reeve gave him a half-mocking salute. "Crystal, boss."

"And don't call me boss."

"Of course, master."

"Grrrr...!"

* * *

><p>"Daddy."<p>

Now Tatsuki understood why Jutani Zatsua wore those strange mirrored shades habitually. Besides being incredibly scary in the right light such as the dim violet of Mayuri's lab, they prevented people from seeing the feelings that were too strong to be kept from her face.

And this had to be one time when she didn't want anyone else knowing about the tempest of emotions stirring inside her small frame. In Tatsuki's humble opinion, nobody over the age of 10 ever wanted to let someone else see them cry.

But there it was; the knees of the auburn-haired woman who had gotten them this far had failed her, her arms dropping her handbag as they flew up to cover her face, a failed effort to hide tears and uncontrollable sobbing. This prompted Genkinto Zatsua- or at least the spiritual being with his face and voice- to carefully walk up and place one warm, comforting arm across her slumped shoulders.

Neither of her Spirit Eater guardians interfered, so stunned were they. They'd both heard the story, the events that had put their creator on this course. Even the blond seer Lanis had not foreseen this, and seeing equal shock in his darkened eyes Tatsuki felt less out of place for it.

"It's okay, _Juti_", Genkinto was murmuring sympathetically, stroking her hair as she continued to sob. "It's okay. Daddy's here for you. I know this must have been so hard for you to deal with. This bitterness that made you declare vendetta against the Shinigami... you have to get rid of it. All it does is make you hurt people. But I can help you get through it. I'll be here for you. I promise."

None of the others knew quite how to react to that, though to the irritation of many Mayuri Kurotsuchi looked disgusted by the display of emotion taking place in his lab. Still, after several minutes Tatsuki dared to look up at Yoruichi and smile with shining eyes. The nightmare was nearly over. She wouldn't have to fight any more of Ichigo's friends, or Ichigo himself.

One day, perhaps, he might even forgive her for betraying him.

Yoruichi looked immensely relieved too. Glancing at both the active Spirit Eaters and then at Verdade with his camera, she grinned. "I'm really glad I brought him along, even if Yamamoto chews me out for bringing a Plus soul here. From the looks of things, this might have been my last chance to stop whatever she was planning. I trust you two don't mind?"

"Not at all", Tatsuki said cheerily. "If what you said earlier is true, then maybe all the horrible things we've been told about the Shinigami are wrong. Though I hope you have some explanation for how your people made Ichigo keep secrets from his best friend. Something that isn't brainwashing."

"Pretty sure he's immune to brainwashing anyway", the assassin joked. "You're his human friend, then?"

She slumped, remembering well the look of horror on his face when she'd gutted him. "I _was_."

Yoruichi shrugged. "Hey take it from me, Ichigo's a really forgiving guy. If you just explain everything to him, I'm sure he'll welcome you back. So will Chad and Orihime, and then you can make him explain everything to _you_."

Beside her, Lanis made no aggressive moves yet, but he did not look pleased. "_Paz? _This is not what I have foreseen. _Meu mestre_ must begin her _metamorfose_. Mayuri must help."

"_Paz, amigo_", lady Yoruichi maintained, trying to calm him. "I don't mean to doubt your seeing abilities, but I don't believe in a fixed destiny either. Everything we do changes the future. And now I'm _really _glad I stopped the future you saw from happening. You should be too."

"C'mon Lanis", Tatsuki implored to him as well, dropping her guard and forcing herself to look him squarely in his ghostly gray eyes, the eyes that could supposedly see through time if one believed it. "She's right. It's time for us to drop this grudge. If Zatsua-sensei can do it, so can we."

His reply was a grunt that indicated he would still take some convincing, but it was enough now that he wouldn't fight against a lasting peace settlement. At least, not against everyone else assembled here.

Satisfied that his daughter was stable for the moment, Genkinto's ghost walked back over to them. He had nearly the same hair colour as she, arranged in a curly mop that nearly blocked his wide blue eyes as he smiled as well. "Thank you, lady Yoruichi. It was good to be able to see my _Juti_ again, and almost as good to be able save her from this terrible mistake."

"You're welcome Genkinto. All that's left now is to let the rest of Jutani's creations know that the war is over. And to let Central 46 know all about this hidden base, of course." Mayuri flinched at that, doubtlessly bitter but like Lanis, unable to really do anything to stop them.

Yoruichi smirked at him in satisfaction at that. Like most of her old comrades, she had no respect for the mad scientist whatsoever. "Yeah that's right, you heard me _taicho_. Somehow I think you're gonna have a lot of explaining to... do...?"

Her voice trailed into silence, allowing everyone time enough to catch the slow shift in Zatsua's crying. Genkinto turned, but the difference was subtle enough that he was frozen with indecision until there could be no further doubt that something was very wrong.

No doubt at all that Jutani Zatsua was no longer sobbing in grief. Her face remained covered by her arms, but the tearful sound had changed gradually while they were talking. Becoming something similar but different.

It was laughter. Mad, heedless, unending laughter that echoed into the rafters even while muffled, unmistakable once those arms were dropped to reveal the face responsible for it.

Seeing it, Yoruichi felt her spine crawl. Zatsua's face was bloodshot, puffy and stained with tears... but her sorrow was gone. Buried, or burned away. "Well done", she whispered. Then a second time, loud enough to nearly match Mayuri's squawking. "Well done! VERY, VERY WELL DONE, SHINIGAMI!"

Verdade stepped back. He wasn't alone, but Genkinto stood firm. "Juti...?"

"Hahaha... I see it all now", Zatsua cackled, arms hanging limp at her sides. "Should've seen it earlier, Gods of Death, a perenatural aristocracy with low-ranking commoners no better than slaves... how could I not? The souls don't just go away." Briefly interrupted by another bout of mad laughter, she fixed her eyes on Genkinto's face, then stomped her fallen shades beneath her boot, crushing them beyond all repair. "The 'bad' souls, the Hollows, become monsters and go to Hueco Mundo. The Pluses become your _servants_."

Fortunately she hadn't expected a reply. No one in the lab could think of anything to say to that. "My father's soul", Zatsua went on fake-sweetly. "The soul of the man who opposed you by taking over the Spirit Eater project. So you killed him, and you took his soul. That's even BETTER than just striking down an enemy; you convert the soul of every single good human who dies to your purposes for eternity... Well. Done."

"Jutani, enough!", Genkinto thundered, clearly invoking the full name to try and regain control of the situation. "I've changed a great deal since the car accident. I understand now that the Shinigami are not to be feared. They only want to help us."

Zatsua looked at him pityingly. This_ thing _was not her father. "Aren't you going to say 'Resistance is Futile' as well?" A pause, again devoid of reply. "No? Then allow me."

She gestured, nodding to her guards. "Tatsuki, Lanis, take her. I'll deal with this _thing _that dares wear my father's face."

"Jutani!" Yoruichi had paled, but tried one final time to stop what was happening. "You're crazy! You can't do this! You have to stop!"

A weirdly serene glare told her all she needed to know. "Kill me then, Yoruichi Shihoin. Take my soul, turn me into a Plus, and then I'll do anything a Shinigami tells me to do, _won't I_? Completely obedient, just like this _thing_. Go ahead. I'm waiting."

Tatsuki wasn't sure who had moved first. All she knew was her own combat reflexes kicking in, moving her up to block a lightning-fast flying kick aimed at Zatsua's fragile human skull. Lanis had predicted it happening even before the assassin's muscles had begun to move, slowing the forward momentum long enough for the stronger Tatsuki to jump in and force her back with a strike to the ribs, followed by a _Shunpo_-enhanced uppercut.

The two-on-one fight might have gone on much longer, might even have resulted in a victory for Yoruichi had a third assailant not been waiting with his weapon. Seeing the tip sticking grotesquely out of her midsection, the assassin could only snarl, "Traitor".

"Traitor? Hmph! How ignorant", Mayuri professed contemptuously, holding his strange baby-faced weapon steady to make sure enough poison seeped into Yoruichi's body to keep her still. " 'Traitor' implies I had betrayed a prior vow of loyalty. When have I ever given my loyalty to anything save the pursuit of science?"

His angry victim looked like she wanted to say more, but the venom had already numbed her lips and throat before moving on to the rest of the body, leaving it paralysed and helpless... but still able to feel everything that was happening to it as Lanis hauled the body over his shoulder.

"Get her into restraints", Zatsua commanded, no longer caring about how quickly Genkinto had fled out the door into the light. "I'll take no chances, and I want her to see everything we're going to do here."

Feeling as if she was struggling to catch up, Tatsuki frowned. "It was all a lie then, sensei?"

"All of it", Zatsua concurred, regarding the crumpled wreckage of her shades. Softened slightly. "The Shinigami are only capable of malicious lies, Tatsuki. This only proves it beyond doubt. We're winning, so they'll do whatever they can to preserve their hold over the world. That includes using those whom we love to sway our hearts away from this course."

_Ichigo_, the thought came to her mind unbidden. Ichigo Kurosaki, or the Shinigami with his appearance would come, would beg them to stop fighting just as Genkinto had. An effective, but utterly despicable tactic whether used by soul reapers or humans or Hollows.

"I won't break", she promised, swallowing her doubts. More deception, more self-delusion. Who was telling the truth anymore? Could anyone trust her again? _No going back now. Much as I'd like to just run away and be free of all this._ Watching Lanis strap their victim into the cuffs, she forced the words out. "I know what they'll... try to do."

"Good girl." Satisfied, Zatsua turned her attention to Mayuri and Yoruichi. A new fire smouldered in her revealed eyes, kindled by the sight of the ghost who called itself Genkinto Zatsua. "Verdade, send the signal to group B. Make sure Adre and the others know the situation."

Seeing the man departed, she turned to the rest of them. "We begin as soon as possible, sir Kurotsuchi. Don't even bother with the safety protocols."

Mayuri squinted. "What's a safety protocol?"

Tinged with traces of derangement, Zatsua still managed a chuckle at that, lifting up the container of green 'G-Cells' from the handbag she'd dropped earlier. "I knew you were the right person to go to. This is thirty times the amount normally injected into a newborn. Don't hold anything back at all. I don't care if this treatment makes my body the most repulsive-looking thing ever... give me **power**. I need the power. My children need my help."

As compassionate as those words sounded, she couldn't help sliding one narrowed eye over to Yoruichi's paralysed and bound form. The four of them had wrestled her into special energy-blocking restraints Mayuri had provided.

Zatsua licked her lips, flames dancing in her eyes from anticipation. "After _that_, I'm going to rip your heart out and let you watch me eat it, Yoruichi Shihoin... but not before you bear witness to the complete eradication of every other Shinigami in this entire wretched world. _Then_ we'll be even."

The soul reaper in question could not move an inch, held fast by the venom in her system. She could not scream in protest to this insanity, or close her eyes, or even turn her head away from the sight as the future Lanis had foretold unfolded in front of her.

She could only watch in fear.

And Tatsuki Arisawa knew exactly how that felt.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm proud of this very eventful chapter. We have one villain starting what TV Tropes calls a Heel Face Turn, and another crossing the Moral Event Horizon into madness. No more points for guessing who the 'final boss' of this arc is going to be.

Really, I guess 'arc' is the right word for it. Growing from what was going to be an OC story set centuries in the future, this story is intended as a self-contained arc like the movies (I hesitate to say 'Filler' since I know how most people feel about the insane of amount of Filler in Bleach). If it must be labelled like that, I'd at least like it to be more interesting and thoughtful than most of those arcs. The war** will** go on. This is only the halfway mark, but to answer HMMaster's question this won't have a sequel I'm aware of right now.

On that note, I'd ask which of the OCs you find most interesting so far. Certainly Jutani Zatsua can't be compared to masterminds like Sosuke Aizen or the more recent Tsukishima... at least not **yet**. For whatever reason we haven't seen a real major female villain yet in canon, thought I'd change that up.

Again as this is the halfway mark, I'll be taking a short break before resuming. Happy Spring, everyone.


	21. Part 21: Resolutions

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach.

* * *

><p>Part 21: Resolutions<p>

* * *

><p>Orihime felt she had gotten to know Narahama Sakuya fairly well over the past few hours. Though technically as much of a healer as she, the chocolate-haired Shinigami woman seemed grumpy and easily aggravated by people trying to leave the squad 10 barracks before they were completely in top shape by her reckoning. When that happened, she was scary, even if she was the weakest soul reaper here in terms of power. She had punched out an overeager Renji three times already.<p>

Finally, she looked tired of constantly yelling and running around in a panic patching people up, and plunked herself down on a futon out of exhaustion. Seeing the human girl's concerned gaze, she smirked. "Heh... By all means Inoue, continue. Maybe it's just me they want to annoy by being such pigheaded fools. Bah. _Men._"

None of them could ignore her own contribution to the cause, the _Shun Shun Rikka_ spirits inhabiting her hair pins coming forth to help undo serious wounds, 'rejecting' that they had ever happened to begin with. Together, Orihime and Narahama had managed to get nearly everyone into a stable condition, most of them ready to run off and fight and get hurt again within a few more hours. Narahama had angrily summarized as much.

"I reject", she repeated, raising the same orange barrier as before to seal a messy gash going up a cadet's sword arm. Seeing a glint of thanks in his handsome eyes, she turned back to the one glaring exception to their success rate- Rutori Igenari.

The raven-haired cadet had not moved since they'd brought him in and slumped him against the wall yesterday, had not even shown the smallest sign of life. His flesh remained persistently dead gray, the gloomy shade of those who had been severely drained by a Spirit Eater's touch, and his eyes stubbornly shut.

_Why?_ She could not help but wonder. Her powers had worked on everything else, including other drained Shinigami, restoring their energy. Even when they'd met, both in captivity, he had been horribly weak. Now, she had to consider the possibility that he'd been put beyond any possible recovery technique in existence. That he would never wake up.

_At least it's not Kurosaki-ku- _She broke off that thought, horrified at herself. That was a completely selfish idea, something Tsubaki would have slapped her for. Even if she didn't know Igenari personally, he was still someone's son or brother. She owed him his best efforts, just like everyone else here.

_One more try, for his sake, _she over to the ashen body, she quietly focused, calling upon every bit of the power she'd developed across the years. "_Soten Kisshun_. I reject!"

The man's flesh was, as usual, icy-cold to touch, so cold it was difficult for her to bear. Nonetheless, the orange glow of the technique covered his arm, for a moment seeming to restore its light. Only after the glow faded did it resume the same dead gray shade, as implacable as ever.

Rising from her seat, Narahama ran over to a dirty bowl and sent it flying out the window with a kick. Seeing confusion and fear that she'd somehow offended her on Orihime's round face, she broke into a sheepish smile and scratched her head. "I thought I'd do that for you miss Inoue, since you seem too uptight to vent your frustrations. That's not healthy for anyone, Shinigami or human. You have to give your feelings room in these situations or you'll go crazy."

"I-I'm sorry, Narahama-san", she stammered, bowing. "I _am_ sad that we can't help him." _And that there's no clue as to why my Soten Kisshun isn't working. _"All this fighting... my friends are all out there, on both sides. What if one of them is next to be brought in?"

"Then we'll patch them up again", the healer shrugged as if it meant nothing. "That Kurosaki lad seems like the type to push himself to breaking and beyond." She sighed. "No one ever cares about the anguish the healers go through in times such as these. They just keep coming back, expecting I can just snap my fingers and make everything all better so they can go out and do it all again. That's why I got kicked out of squad 4. Too much stress."

"I'm so sorry I couldn't be more help, Narahama-san."

Narahama waved it away. "Hey, enough of that. There's no reason for you to apologize Inoue- with those strange powers of yours, you've cut my workload in half. I should be thanking _you_ on bent knee, but I'm too tired to do it right now."

Hence her eternal grumpiness. Taking a look around at the other wounded in their cots as if to remind herself, she studied her fellow healer closely. "Give my feelings room?"

Chuckling, the Shinigami made a, inviting hand gesture. "Go ahead. I'm not too tired to listen yet, so long as you don't spout some macho garbage about going out there and fighting."

"_Tatsuki-chan_", she forced the word out, feeling as if that alone would encapsulate everything that had been bothering her. "We went to see her uncle Matoba. That's how this all got started, and now she's..."

"With the enemy", Narahama finished, reflecting the girl's pain. "A Spirit Eater from birth."

"_No!_" She shook her head. She couldn't accept it. Ichigo was completely right. It just wasn't possible. Not with the girl she knew, who had saved her from bullies time and time again. "She's _not_ a bad guy. There has to be a reason, something that made her choose this. There was this time once, when I was forced to betray Kurosaki-kun in order to save his life... everyone believed it, everyone here called me a traitor... except for _him_. He travelled all the way to the world of the Hollows to save me. Never doubted me at all."

A new firmness had settled on her brow, and Narahama looked very impressed as she stood tall, for once seeming stronger than the Shinigami. "_That's_ why I'll never lose faith in Tatsuki-chan. No matter what I see, no matter what I hear she's done. She's a good person. I'll always believe that. She's our... True Companion."

"Well spoken", the healer commented, surprisingly un-cynical at her little speech. "I heard that Kurosaki Ichigo felt the same way, denying even the possibility. But will he still believe it when confronted by her in battle?"

Doubt flooded her entire being, and she knew she wouldn't be healing anyone else today. It felt like Narahama was deliberately bringing up the worst possible outcome. But now, thinking about it some more, it seemed like the only way it could happen. Ichigo would consider it his personal responsibility to neutralize Tatsuki, and bring her back here unharmed. Even if he had to fight through a hundred other Spirit Eaters before reaching their dear friend.

None of the Captains would be so gentle. Which made it even more important that Ichigo be the one to defeat her. She must have looked very sad, because Narahama walked over and tussled her orange hair up. "Hey now. There's no need for you to worry. When has that boy ever failed in his goals? That's actually something the 13 Captains have lamented- he can't finish off an enemy that isn't a Hollow, even if they order him to. They think him weak because of that."

It was true. Despite the horrifying amount of blood Orihime had seen her dear friend spill and lose in battles, she had never seen him execute a human or Shinigami opponent. _ Even Ulquiorra..._

Sigh. There was another can of anxiety she'd rather not face right now. What exactly _was _Ulquiorra? A Hollow given human form and mind, or something else? Something more? How had he come to be? Somewhere in that raven-haired creature a true soul had dwelt, a heart so different from any other Hollow.

Looking back, she noticed Igenari actually had a similar hairstyle to the departed Arrancar, though not as dark or long. That reminder must have brought her thoughts back to him. She chuckled blithely, burying her face in her hands. _I think I actually preferred it when they were all slavering beasts wearing white masks. Less complicated that way. Better that than people just trying to survive. Better that than having to fight a bunch of humans. Better that than having to fight __**Tatsuki-chan**__..._

But Narahama was right. It was pointless. Her worrying about it endlessly, replaying the gruesome confrontation between her two best friends in her powerful imagination again and again, would do absolutely nothing to help Ichigo succeed. So she stood up proud again, intently focusing her mind on _anything_ unrelated to Ichigo or Tatsuki.

And nearly fell over. "Looks like I'm not the only one running out of steam here", Narahama commented dryly. "Go ahead, girl. Take a rest in the common room for now. You've earned it."

Her first instinct was to squeak out a protest, trying to avoid going off to the land of dreams where it would be even harder not to dwell on The Confrontation... but her head really did feel heavy along with the rest of her. Her abilities always took their toll, and she hadn't slept since Rukia had woken everyone up with an emergency in the middle of the night.

The commons room was empty. Everyone else capable of standing and fighting had gone off with Matsumoto to fight the invasion. A dozen cushions lay strewn around the area, as if waiting eagerly for her arrival. It wasn't hard to fashion together a makeshift bed on the drinking table, and slide snugly beneath the cover.

There was one thing she_ could_ do, a thought intruder as her eyes began to force themselves closed. That was be rested and ready to heal any injuries either of her friends got in The Confrontation, whether it happened today or a week from now. Narahama had been rightly impressed by her. Her powers might mean the difference between life and death for one, or both of them.

If _that _was her destined role, then it was the easiest of the three. Content with that, she allowed herself to slide off into nothingness.

* * *

><p>"Dying", the man said helplessly, unwilling to mince words before a superior. "They're dying."<p>

Captain Retsu Unohana took the news without visible reaction. As the leader of squad 4, best known for its powerful healers, her grandmotherly appearance and demeanour were easier than most of her peers for a commoner to approach. Hence why she was often confronted with the concerns of the 'civillian' soul reapers, Shinigami who remained in the _Rukongai_ by virtue of relation to an active or deceased one, such as the Shiba clan. It was the least they could do to honour those heroes, both present and past.

This one and his family of two sons, an older daughter currently in a cadet, and his wife were farmers, content to work the ever-fertile lands outside the city to provide home-grown food for all of their neighbours. An entire field of vegetables was laid out here near a lake, stretching to the border set by their wooden fencing.

But now some of the sprouts were showing odd signs, a departure from the usually perfect conditions provided by the soul reaper's dimension. Even the flowers the man's youngest had made his private gardening project were showing signs of it, several of the tulips wilting with no explanation.

"You are not the only ones", she reassured the man confidently "Trust me that you've done nothing to anger the Spirit King. This is happening everywhere now."

If anything, the man looked even more frightened, his blue eyes wide as he beheld the fields he had spent decades toiling over. "But why, Unohana-sama? Why are our crops suffering? We have done nothing wrong. The agricultural techniques are solid."

Unohana closed her eyes. It wasn't hard for her to figure the answer. She just couldn't say if it would make things worse to tell him. He would certainly spread the news, and that would result in a climate of despair that could affect everyone.

On the other hand... "The entire Gotei 13 is working on this currently", she reminded him confidently. "We were on our way when Isane noticed your distress call." Her loyal lieutenant was out there now, dutifully analyzing the source of the decay not only in the fields, but the wind and the water as well.

"Apologies, _taicho_", the man bowed. "I did not mean to interrupt your importantly work."

"No apologies are necessary", she replied firmly. "We know the cause and are working to reverse it... This decay of the land and the air is being caused by invaders into the _Seritei_."

The farmer gaped. "The Ryoka? But why would they do such a thing? How?"

"Not the Ryoka. More recent arrivals. They are called _Ingenium Comendent, _or Spirit Eaters. Enhanced humans designed to absorb _reishi_ through their skin at a phenomenal rate."

The farmer glanced around frantically. Surely he understood the nature of the problem, the fact that their entire world was largely composed of that spiritual energy. As were they. "How... how long ago was this? No one has said anything."

Unohana nodded. "About a day. Yamamoto-taicho has asked the people of the south district to keep quiet to prevent a panic. Or worse, the Ryoka deciding now is the time to attempt to claim some area of the _seritei_ for their own while we are distracted."

"I understand", the man said after a fearful pause. "Now is a time for solidarity among us, not infighting. But at least tell me; when will this end? If the rate of progression continues, my entire crop will be left fallow in a week."

That, she couldn't answer. She'd certainly felt flashes of some particularly high _reishi_ signatures out at the battle zone, but nothing decisive on either side. Her squad were the healers, not warriors. They could do nothing to remedy this condition until the enemy was properly dealt with. That was their weakness. Though comfortable in that role, her extensive knowledge of _reishi_ properties left her perhaps the one who knew the most of how this would play out.

The enemy had chosen their battleground well- by merely touching the ground with their bare hands they could regain any energy they had expended in battle, if not heal a wound. Every drain would leech away a bit more of the land's normally-vibrant health. Gradually, painfully slowly the earth would rot, the wind would fade into a breeze then nothing, and the nearby lake would dry up along with its tributaries throughout their world.

Their world would perish.

Their new enemy were walking singularities of spirit energy, black holes devouring all in their path. Harsh as it seemed to Unohana, showing restraint due to their technical status as humans just meant Soul Society would crumble that much quicker. _Becoming a desolate wasteland devoid of life, as vacant and gray as Hueco Mundo... NO. We cannot let that happen, even if it means violating the law and slaying a few humans. _

She knew there were other Captains and nobles who would oppose that idea to the end; the concept repulsed her as well. But the truth was out here in the farmlands looking her in the eye. And for the first time many years, she felt genuine fear for the future.

It suddenly felt to her like they were taking far too long out here in the fields. As gently as possible, she beckoned to her squad, recalling them back into formation, starting with young Isane. The beleaguered lieutenant looked equally stricken by what she'd seen out there, but wasted no time.

"We must go", she commanded the purple-haired girl, though she hoped kindly enough to blunt her urgency. It wouldn't do to let squad 4 see just how scared their stalwart Captain really was. "Squad 10 is in need of our assistance- I can sense great injuries from here."

Great need of mending. And of stopping the source of the rot.

_Sometimes_, she noted unhappily, _sometimes in order to heal, one must first hurt._

* * *

><p>"<em>Reiatsu<em>", the grumbled command came from Ichigo's mouth without any sign. "Get some. Now."

For once it was Reeve\s turn to be shocked. The boy hadn't said a word to him for their entire climb out of the mine. Neither had been fooling themselves about how angry Ichigo still was with him, and how small slip-up would be required for him to change his mind. And now...?

"You're asking me to drain _even more _energy out of Soul Society to replenish myself", he stared into the Shinigami's eyes, disbelieving. "How hard did I hit you back there, master?"

Ichigo glowered at him. "If you're going to insist on fighting for me bastard, I'd_ really_ prefer it if you had enough energy to flash-step or shoot your fire or something, so I don't have to waste my time protecting you. You're down one arm already. You barely had enough strength left to crawl out of that cave. So get on with it. Now."

Obliging, he looked around and picked out a building that hadn't been laid to waste yet; something that looked like an old-fashioned forge. _Appropriate_, he acknowledged with a grin. Touching his remaining hand to the dark brown wood, he felt the _reishi_ within the building's materials flow into him, for once not accompanied by a rush of memories. _Had enough of that, thanks._

Even more surprising than his initial request, Ichigo was actually waiting for him to finish, not even watching the effects he was having on the building, instead scanning the skies and surrounding area for threats. Of course he was- they'd both been out of it for a long time, and it was important to know where to focus their efforts.

"So here you are again", Reeve remarked, going back over the cascade of memories that still dwelled within him. "Once again it's all up to Ichigo Kurosaki to save Soul Society from itself. What would they ever do without _you_ to save the day?"

No answer. His 'master' seemed busy stretching out untrained spiritual senses, trying to figure where the action was by signs of strong spiritual pressure. "Burn and die, I suppose", Reeve finished. Behind him, the forge was showing the first signs of decay, its wood splintering at the seams. "But that's what you do, isn't it? You protect."

Kurosaki snorted in disdain. "You finally get it. Yeah, I protect. That's why I was given this power. To protect as many as I can."

"How come?" Asked seemingly out of the blue, this was actually the thing he'd wanted to hit on since the day they'd met. "For the warm fuzzy feeling you get inside? You could just piss yourself and you'd get the same-"

The teen's arm shot out, throwing Reeve's head _hard_ into the ruined wood in front of him. He felt the beginnings of a blackout but forced himself not to fall. Forced himself to grin right back, teeth clenched. He could take it.

"You saw my memories, bastard. You already know why."

"Right", he nodded. The vision was right there. A beautiful golden-haired woman who had been the center of Ichigo's universe. "Masaki. Powerless to save her. You never want to fail again. " Turning back to the wood so his smile would stop angering his master, he sighed. "Still, I envy you. You _had_ a mom. When _your_ old man beats you up, s'all fun and games. And he waited until you were old enough to take it."

Now the roof was coming apart. Ichigo ignored the creaking, ignored everything except the spiritual signals and the sound of that voice still much like his own, only far more callous. "Don't start with me, bastard. This isn't the time to compare who's had the harsher life. I don't care."

"Point taken. Point dropped." He knew by now how far Ichigo could be pushed before he really _would_ give up on being merciful. "Almost done. Let's... talk about something else then. Your _devotchkas_. Which one do you like?"

Reeve could easily visualize how he would take that, struggling to make sense of the unfamiliar term and how brusque such a question was. Naturally, he took offence. "Keep going, maybe I'll toss you back down the hole. I don't _choose_, baka. I like Inoue, Rukia, and Tatsuki equally. They're all my friends."

"A friendly word of advice then", he replied, feeling the last of the energy beginning to give away before him. "Make a choice soon. Because all three of them still believe they have a chance with you. The longer they go on thinking that, the more cruel it would be to dash their hopes."

"Romantic advice from a friendless punk." He dismissed it, but the lack of bite in his words showed how much that had cut him. _Almost too easy, when you know almost everything about someone. Including how to push their buttons. _"We're too young for stuff like that."

"Rukia isn't."

"Rukia is engaged." Instead of bitter, he sounded happy now, glad to find some memories Reeve hadn't seen. "Engaged to this big-shot noble in the Shihoin clan, Samora. Nothing I can do about it."

"A shame. One less choice for you."

Without any further discussion, the forge fell to pieces entirely, caving in until it was just a pile of debris, the wood's tone changed to dead gray. "Done?"

"Done", Reeve agreed. He wasn't quite up to full yet, but stopping to leech out another building might break what little patience his master had. "I've got enough juice to keep up with you now. Where to boss?"

"Don't call me boss." Taking one last check around the area, Ichigo pointed his sword. "Over there. Kenpachi, Byakuya, and... Ikkaku, it feels like. Anyone who can last this long against those guys has got to be tough."

"Hyn", Reeve guessed. "He had orders to keep the captains occupied for as long as possible, keep them from interfering with Demalza's mission."

"Interfering", Ichigo repeated, frowning. "Oh yeah, Demalza's _Ianzamento, '_Wild Drive'... Controlling Komamura because he's an animal soul, right?"

"That's right. He's busy with someone else right now, but he'll be done with them soon enough. Your call, boss."

"Change of plans then", Ichigo decreed merrily, the old spring back in his step. With a single leap, he was up on the rooftops again, ready to sprint back into the battle zone. It felt like it had been long time since the fake cop had appealed to him, to try and get him to sever his ties with the Shinigami. He already knew _this_ encounter wouldn't be so cordial.

"Let's go do some interfering."

* * *

><p>In order to perform the procedures demanded of him, Mayuri Kurotsuchi had in turn demanded a complete renovation of the main area of his secret lab, a rearranging of heavy machines that required strong lifters to help with.<p>

Tatsuki refused to take part. She couldn't stand looking at the machinery more. Or perhaps it was the Shinigami himself, disgusting freak that he was.

Or Zatsua. Or Lanis. It didn't matter. The point was, whatever was going on in that chamber made her feel sick to her stomach. No longer permitted to damage the complex machines, she instead wandered out to the 2nd floor balcony, a small square affair with angular bronzed railings above the mountain the rest of the facility lay buried in. There, she could at least _try_ and cure herself with a mere touch of her bare hands to the rail.

It wasn't working. The sight of the rail groaning and coming apart in her hand didn't help at all. _I hate this_, she recognized, amazed it had taken this long to figure out. _I want to protect, not destroy. I can't touch anything here without sucking the life out of it._

She couldn't touch_ Ichigo_, at least not while he remained a substitute soul reaper. Could never kiss him or hug him. The slightest touch of their bare skin and he would go limp, unable to stop the rest of his spiritual energy from flowing into her body, accompanied by a rush of memories... memories she was pretty sure would be mostly repeats of her own.

Because they had been together longer than anyone she'd known. From the moment she'd seen that smiling orange-haired boy in the juniors dojo he'd been different, so different from everyone else. He felt so _alive_, shining with the same will and desires she held then and now. _Back then... I only wanted to help him get through it, he was a weaker fighter than me, but so talented and dedicated..._

At what point had she ever entertained notions that they might be something more? She couldn't recall exactly when or where the thought had entered her head, only that it had happened. Now, she could only regret not acting on it sooner.

"Why", she whispered. Self-pity was the province of other, weaker teens, but the words came on regardless. "Why? Why does it have to be this way? Was it God's..." She broke off, nearly shifting into bitter laughter. The impact of the Shinigami's existence was not lost on her, though even Zatsua had admitted she had no idea how far their power as 'Death Gods' extended. _But if they're that powerful, it's one more that I owe them for turning Ichigo into one of their own._

The clouds drifting above held no sympathy for her, flat as pancakes and slow as syrup. _Okay so maybe we're just a __**little**__ bit hungry for something other than spiritual energy_. She could practically taste Orihime's home cooking, insanely unhealthy but a delight to have, simply because it was made with loving care by a good friend.

_Orihime._ Tatsuki ached to see her cute face once more. What did _she_ think of this betrayal? How much did she know of the true Shinigami? She was an innocent bystander, Tatsuki decided firmly. There was no kinder girl in all the world, no one more precious. She would never knowingly assist murderers, only sit by and worry for the continued safety of her friends for getting mixed up in all this craziness. _I'm sorry, Orihime._

Not that she'd had a choice in the matter. Had Ichigo made that choice? That was one more thing he'd kept a secret from her, though it wasn't hard to figure it had happened shortly before Rukia Kuchiki had been introduced to their class.

_Then_ came the unexplained absences, the obvious cover-ups, the ever-more-frequent appearances of weirdos in their class and around their town whom Ichigo somehow seemed to know already. Increased Hollow attacks that raised questions even in Keigo Asano's excuse for a brain. That time Ichigo had come in acting completely different from his usual self and openly _kissed_ Inoue.

And then of course, the final straw. A heartfelt plea to him to just tell her, his best friend, what the hell was going on, and what his involvement was. The first time she had ever _begged_ him for something as far as she could recall. What had he gone through? What had the Shinigami done to him that he would lie directly to her face?

However it had happened, he had lied. Kurosaki Ichigo was now in the company of a society of ghosts; wraiths every bit as savage and ruthless as the one who had killed his mother.

Remembering how he had been back then, she felt the doubts that had been creeping up in her heart fading, to be replaced by the desire for justice she had thought they both shared, that linked them. His mother, taken away by an invisible spiritual being for no greater crime than existing...

Justice had been served to the sadistic Hollow called 'Grand Fisher', but what about Zatsua? She'd waited twenty years to exact justice against the deadly ghost who had slain her entire family. Who was now locked up downstairs, paralysed and helpless. _Would it be justice for us to hold Grand Fisher down and make him watch as we killed all the Hollows he was friends with?_

Numbers didn't diminish the tragedy of Masaki Kurosaki. The crimes seemed even, it was just that one had been duly avenged, and the other had not. For that, she could just about forgive Jutani Zatsua for continuing the hideous Spirit Eater program and awakening her latent abilities when needed, an outlook Tatsuki was fairly sure a lot of her new 'friends' shared.

But they would never be her friends like Ichigo and Orihime and Chad. No matter how kind Barton Eishinshi was or how loyal and wise Demalza Sanhas, or even how funny Reeve Pastell's wisecracks could be sometimes, they couldn't replace her True Companions. Not now, not ever. _In the end we're all just living weapons, tools to give Zatsua the justice she craves. What happens next? Do I just go back to Karakura Town like none of this ever happened?_

Her thoughts and opinions were in turmoil. She could recognize that easily. It was time to clear her head, refocus priorities. When she was upset or confused, practising martial arts always helped.

Then there was her _Ianzamento_, potentially far more devastating than her black belt, though that would always be an asset. _With these incredible powers_, she thought in consolation, _I could do some real good. Even armed robbers, even radical terrorist groups would have no chance against me. _Wasn't that one of her dreams? To be a superhero?

Her left hand moved up, past her elbow to touch the right shoulder where the tattoo was. The mark of her 'kindred', which she'd always figured to be a weird birthmark until now. "Activate _Ianzamento_- 'Xuízo de Terra!' "

She hadn't used it since her last sparring session with Frigeld, but the surge of energy came back almost immediately, as if sensing her doubt. Spiritual energy released from within the mark enveloped her, glowing with new intensity before resolving into a full set of form-fitting dark green body armour, only leaving the head and fingers open. Fingerless gloves, just like she'd worn in the dojo to avoid getting her hands all sweaty. Inside though, it was completely cool and not bulky or heavy at all.

Deceptively simple-looking, this armour had withstood storms of razor-edged diamonds from Frigeld, had shattered his own diamond armour with properly aimed karate chops and kicks. Despite everything else she felt at the moment, the feel of the power- and what it could accomplish in both this dimension and her own- was excellent. _Power corrupts_, she remembered starkly. _I won't ever let being practically invincible in this state change who I am._

Right now, though, she was too curious to let the matter of this new dimension lie. Being here in the Shinigami's world was supposed to enhance all the Spirit Eater's powers by a factor of five or more.

Looking out across the empty valley, she swung at the air, entering into a series of high-low strikes as familiar as tying one's shoes. The pantomime did nothing to the balcony, but she had barely finished when the first sounds of rocks cracking reached her ears, and she rushed over to see the result.

There had been a small mountain to the southeast of Mayuri's lab, a solid spire of brown jutting out of the sands, Now it was being taken apart piece by piece, cracking at the base with no sign of what was causing the damage. Almost as if it was being affected by an extremely localized earthquake.

_Not an earthquake_, Tatsuki positively beamed, her inner troubles forgotten for one blissful moment. _No earthquake. It was **me**. **I** did that. **I'm** a natural disaster. With just the air currents from my strikes!_

Bad or good, the power in her clenched hands and feet felt undeniably satisfying._ And_ it explained part of the Shinigami's reluctance to let go of theirs. How could you _not_ look down on humans when you were so much more powerful, swifter, more knowledgeable, more long-lived than any of them?

_By knowing the trap of power,_ she thought, bowing her head solemnly before the enormous dust cloud she'd kicked up. _I promise that I'll only ever use this great power called 'Xuízo de Terra_'_ for just causes. _She'd earned and was proud of the title 'bully hunter' at Karakura High, but _this_... this could take a person's head right off, something that no one deserved.

_Maybe a few_, she corrected herself momentarily. _Shinigami_ could take it. To them, powers of this insane magnitude were just another Monday.

"Like it or not.", she said out loud, engaging in another pantomime pummeling, this time aimed into the sky where it could do no harm. "My path is already chosen. If Zatsua's cause is just, then I _should_ help her."

That was the sacrifice you made sometimes, when you chose to fight for justice. Ichigo Kurosaki was her best friend forever. He was her _brother_, just as much as Karin and Yuzu.

But everyone has to grow up sometime. If that crazy boy showed up at the doors to this lab and tried to destroy everything... then that would just be too bad for him.

_So I pray to whatever God of Fate **does** exist that he doesn't show._

_Please._

* * *

><p>AN: A bit of a change of pace here after the craziness of Part 20; a quiet character piece that should hopefully clarify the thoughts and feelings of some of our main characters better, though if it feels like anyone is out of character let me know. Remember that these are point-of-view paragraphs- they don't necessarily reflect my own views. The action will resume next chapter. Happy Easter.


	22. Part 22: Storm Center

Part 22: Storm Center

* * *

><p>Kreig Tsubaku was dead. Snow-bearded Barton Eishinchi had been the first of his comrades to realize this, for even had he been willing to act to save him, even four <em>Ianzamento<em> combined might not have defeated the genuine rage of captain Kenpachi Zaraki.

He actually didn't look mad at the young blue-haired man. He'd certainly heard and seen the little pink-haired girl slam into the roof where Kreig had dropped her, but his determination to enjoy whatever battle he could eclipsed even that.

There was that impossibly wide grin... coupled up with a ruthlessness of movements he hadn't had before now, despite being unable to flash-step. No longer content to drag out a fight, he simply leaped back onto the roof, a jumping slash with both hands holding his blade.

Once more the 'Eye of the Storm' flared up, more black lightning ate into the huge man's body, creeping up the metal of his blade to fry his hands, burning skin and flesh beneath...

It didn't even slow him down. That was how much of a difference two hands made- the weapon swept downward, taking Kreig across the chest and through, carving into the kanji tattoos and out the other end in a spray of the darkest red that stained man, blade, and rooftop.

And before he had even fallen to the ground and expired, Kenpachi was picking up his lieutenant with one arm, searching that tiny body for some sign of life. Despite how psychotically eager the one-eyed captain been for bloodshed, Barton's heart went out to him now. This particular relationship seemed to go beyond that of captain and lieutenant.

"Go", he said firmly after Zaraki spent several moments motionless with the girl clutched to his massive chest. "Make haste to the closest barracks and find her a healer. We won't stop you."

"Bullshit", Yui Alumirr whispered to him when Zaraki still did not respond. "He just killed our buddy and you're letting him walk away?"

Only a whisper though, instead of a defiant yell like she usually did. Perhaps she _did_ have some self-preservation instincts after all. At least, more than poor Kreig Tsubaku. Barton found himself looking back over at that body's wide, blank eyes in deep regret; he had known the boy long enough to feel something for his demise no matter the circumstance, as well as understand what had brought him to this.

He was Reeve Pastell's friend. His only friend. As close as one could be to that deeply troubled lad, being the only two men in their organization of the same general age as Ichigo Kurosaki- Lanis Gideon didn't count. The sentiment was rarely reciprocated, but Kreig's final act of challenging Kenpachi Zaraki had been born from a desire to protect his friend from a dangerous enemy.

"You have seen his incredible strength", he whispered back at last, noticing how Demalza was too occupied to rebuke her. "You have felt that overwhelming fountain of _reiatsu, _andI can tell he is_ still_ holding something back. It would be best for us all if he departed and tended to his friend."

But would he? Zaraki still hadn't moved from the spot, only trembling slightly, looking around the battle zone frantically for something. "Those lazy asses", he growled. "Never around when I actually need 'em."

"Your companions have already fallen", Barton maintained scornfully. Courtesy could no longer hold back his distaste. "If someone is going to save that girl, it will be _you_, Kenpachi Zaraki. Or did it never enter that thick skull of yours that your lieutenant might get hurt in one of these battles you crave?"

The behemoth lowered his head. Even quiet as it was, his rage was a terrible thing to behold. "Yachiru... Damn it... Fine! I'll go! But you'd _better_ still be here when I get back, old-timer! You owe me a good fight!"

With that, he was gone. Barton exhaled, wondering how long his heart had stopped for. "Scared?", Yui teased him.

"Actually, yes. I am very relieved indeed to see that Zaraki has at least_ one_ thing he values more than fighting." Taking a worried gander around just as the Shinigami had, he faced the girl directly. "Still no signal from your brother, but we can wait no longer. Initiate Battle Plan C."

Yui nodded in satisfaction from that, but behind her Demalza didn't look so sure. "Plan C?", she grumbled, face straining as if having difficulty remembering. "You're sure?"

He didn't mind explaining. Miss Sanhas' objections were founded on genuine concern, not a raging ego. He spread his hands wide. "We've all sensed increasing numbers of Shinigami closing in on us, multiple squads. Not even Hyn can stop them all, and Komamura is still occupied with that strange boy you mentioned."

"Not... for much... longer...", Demalza grunted, clearly exasperated on the subject of Chad Yasutora, who had somehow survived this long against her chosen pawn. "He's stubborn as a cockroach... ugh! ...But he'll tire out... and then Komamura will rip him apart. Yes. Rip. Eat. Kill."

"We can't risk taking that long to find out. When Nogrand realizes what we're doing, he'll play his part as well. When that happens, we need to be gone."

"Enough talking", Yui cut in, stepping between them looking weirdly sedate. "Let's do it. Cover your ears."

They didn't need to be told. Barton had witnessed this particular _Ianzamento _more than once.

Walking forward past where Kreig's body had fallen, Yui checked back at her comrades one more time before taking a deep breath.

Five seconds after, she released, and Barton and Demalza flinched as one- even with their ears covered and their minds fully prepared for it, no one among their number could truly become used to the shriek tearing itself out of Yui's mouth and into the sky. Barton swore he could actually _see_ the wave of displaced air radiating out from the screaming girl, passing over buildings left and right but letting no obstacle slow it.

Taking great care, he waited another ten seconds to let go of his own ears, peering over at Demalza to make sure she hadn't lost control. "Komamura?"

"Still fighting", she replied tersely, returning to the same trance she'd been in before. "That only made my control slip for a moment. And that boy was too busy keeping himself alive to notice."

She didn't sound entirely convinced. But as the sound wave flew further out around them, Barton saw something that made him forget all about the Yasutora boy.

None of them had seen it. They'd either been so focused on which of them would die to Kenpachi next or unfamiliar with the dimension's weather patterns, or both. Only now, when the gray storm cloud had been blown away by the blast of sound, had its true nature become apparent.

It wasn't a storm cloud, Barton realized. It was too low to the ground, too focused to be a natural phenomena. It was closer to a cloud of smoke, crawling slowly across the nearby roof.

A cloud which, before it had been blown away, had concealed an orange-haired Shinigami woman.

"Well done, Yui", he complimented, aghast. "It isn't just their spells you've disabled, it seems."

A cheap shot, he realized too late- it would be several minutes at least before Yui Alumirr could speak again. She only gestured, indicating a desire to personally deal with the soul reaper she'd exposed.

Barton felt out with borrowed senses. A lieutenant, at least. The Shinigami looked quite busty even from this distance. Seeing she'd been discovered, she reacted with exaggerated theatricality that made Demalza seethe.

...Or was it something else?

"Hey dog-lady!", the Shinigami called down to them. Rather, to her old nemesis. "Tell your friend there to hush up!"

Demalza said nothing. Her eyes were shut, trying to block out the imagery.

Unfazed, Matsumoto laughed mockingly at her, bending over playfully. "What? You sleepy? It's not even 2 o'clock yet! You get tired that easy? I guess it must be all that saggy weight in your thighs, hm?"

Barton felt his fellow Spirit Eater's teeth gnashing more than he saw or heard it. Realizing what was happening, he darted over and placed both hands gently around Demalza's ears. "Don't listen to her, miss Sanhas. She's only trying to provoke you, to make you lose your concentration."

No response. Seeing the way things were, their new assailant leaped down and waggled a finger defiantly. "Hey, you can't protect her from the truth old man. It's all around her- her flaky skin, her disgusting hair, her fleas, her chest as flat as the ironing board she'll be stuck with at home all day-"

Demalza spasmed in his hands, but held on regardless. Barton wasn't sure whether to be amused by the tactic, or disgusted. He coughed lightly. "Lady Alumirr... please go ahead and do what you've been begging to do since we got here."

But Yui didn't attack. She pointed behind him, eyes wide in fright.

And he felt them too, even if he could not risk turning around. Three spiritual pressure signatures, one matching their estimation of a 3rd seat Shinigami. _A diversion. The lieutenant distracts us while her friends sneak around behind._

Three soul reapers of squad 10. And the center one wasn't stuck with the simple _Zan _katana Shinigami cadets used, but something more on its way to becoming a _Zanpakuto_. Three of them with confident faces, and he couldn't even turn around.

He could, however, move one elbow down to touch the mark at the top of his walking stick. The mark duplicated on the skin of his allies as a tattoo. "Activate _Ianzamento_", he intoned quickly, before one of them could go for the kill. "O Homesombra."

His was not like the others. It was kept separate from his own body, contained within the simple white wooden cane. He had always refused to allow such a terrible destructive force to dwell inside him, always keeping it separate, a different entity.

But now, he had no choice. Now it was 2 o'clock in human time by his reckoning, and his Ianzamento was _loose_.

The first attacker didn't realize anything was wrong- might not have even heard Barton's words. He died mere inches away from his target, his _Zan_ about to cut into the aged Spirit Eater's back, a great geyser of dark blood flashing forth from his ribcage, leaving behind a gruesome blotch of the same stuff on his robes signifying a hole.

He could hear the other two panicking. Of course they were panicking- they hadn't seen any of their three enemies lift a finger to strike, and now one of their comrades was on the floor, bleeding, with no sign of what had caused it. _How often_, he wondered sadly, _do you look down at the ground when you're focused on an enemy?_

It didn't matter. It was 2 o'clock and the shadows of the people and buildings had grown long beneath the sun of the Soul Society's dimension. He felt another spiritual pressure signature diminish sharply, accompanied by a fearful scream. To his relief, the third one did not approach, instead backing off to what he must have thought a safer distance.

"Go", Barton warned him. "Get away from here, or he'll find you."

The third one obliged. Perhaps he'd spotted the slinking dark _thing_ on the ground slowly moving towards him. Matsumoto certainly had. "Shadow puppets", she observed snarkily, glowering at the ground beneath them, the way Barton's shadow was drifting towards her own instead of lying motionlessly at his feet. "They would've been useless at noon. Damn. Now I wish I'd gotten here a little earlier."

"A lost opportunity, milady", he agreed, focus returning to the one in front of him. "I cannot call him off. I beg you leave now, before he kills you as well."

Studying the earth beneath her feet, Matsumoto did leap back, but only a few meters. "Sorry, old man. I didn't come all this way to chicken out... I'm not afraid of the dark."

"Most unfortunate for you", he groaned. His shadow was elongating, becoming something that bore no resemblance at all to his own shape. Something that seemed to be made of nothing but jagged edges and teeth and tentacles. "You should not have come, Shinigami. I truly do not wish to harm you... but _he_ does. O Homesombra shall destroy you if you stay."

Matsumoto ignored him, and he cringed. He already knew how this would end- the same way it always ended. It never got any more pleasant to behold.

* * *

><p>Habit and intense discipline prevented captain Byakuya Kuchiki from revealing any sign of tension. It was only in his own mind that he felt frustration beginning to encroach on it. And<em> that<em> was victory enough for the enemy by itself. _Well played, Hyn Alumirr. You remain Ryoka trash... but the most clever kind of Ryoka trash._

Throwing himself free of the collapsed building, he had recalled his _Bankai_ into the same protective sphere of swirling pink blades, this time cautious of any trick to get him to lower it and leave himself open to a second shot from the Spirit Eater leader.

And tricks, the enemy had in plenty. The incident at the tower, as it turned out, had not been an isolated incident. The shells now lying about the district, some expended on him and some merely placed for this exact moment, were all capable of speaking, of imitating the spiritual pressure of his quarry, luring him or anyone else who used only spiritual senses to guide them to an explosive doom.

Taking them out one by one had been progress, if unsatisfying, until a half-mile square of shells had all lit up around him, the four decoys emitting low-level _Kido_ seals as a single entity. A lesser soul reaper would have been stuck fast by it, and left helpless for the final shot from the one coordinating all of this. _A hunter. He's playing this out like a professional hunter, luring the prey into traps and ambushes, slowly wearing us down for the fatal shot._

That time, of course, would never come. The head of the noble house Kuchiki was no helpless animal to be assaulted from afar and tricked. Shinigami were _not_ prey, particularly not to a mortal human soldier of less than fifty years. It would be a terrible dishonour to lose to such a young fighter, or even be hit by him a second time. For once Byakuya Kuchiki showed caution, instead taking advantage of his unique position to survey the greater situation in the south _Rukongai._

Squad 11 captain Kenpachi Zaraki would not be helping anyone soon. As usual, he had chosen to drag out his current duel as long as possible, regardless of how inferior his opponent was to him, and was now fleeing to the nearest barracks, seeking emergency healing for his lieutenant._ Out of the battle for the time being, along with most of his hangers-on._

His eyes narrowed. _Squad 10, under its lieutenant. Four of them. _They had making their way towards the enemy gathering without a care. By some miracle Hyn hadn't killed them all yet.

_Or..._ Opening a 'window' in the sphere, he beheld the cloud of fog covering their passage as it was torn away by an invisible force.

Then, a second after, that same force buffeted his protective sphere like the waves of the ocean, nearly knocking him into a tower. _Sonic attack_, he observed. He'd seen Hollows with similar talents, who could release massive shrieks in waves of devastating sound. Destructive even if one had the foresight to protect their ears.

_This one, though... _ A lifetime's experience allowed him to sense the distortion in the air, the way even silence seemed uncommonly loud to his ears. It sounded wrong. Off, somehow.

"Way of Binding 81: Severing Void, _Danku_."

Nothing happened. _Just as I thought. Enough sound distortion in the air to warp the sounds of our words past ten meters or so from the origin. _Which meant that no one in the battle zone could use _Kido_ spells. Depending on the frequency and power, it might even prevent communication with one's _Zanpakuto._

He frowned. If he'd been using Toshiro Hitsugaya's strategy of dealing with Hyn Alumirr's shots- using spells to redirect and block attacks- this would've been the end of him right here, unable to cast the crucial barriers. _Surprisingly good coordination for a bunch of mongrel humans. Not that it matters in the-_

He stopped himself, and now the frown transformed into an unhappy scowl- he could see what was going on just ahead of him, where the three enemies had been trying hard to avoid being noticed.

Hitsugaya's lieutenant was wide open. The shroud of thick smoke she'd used to get this close was gone, and the elder Kuchiki swore he could actually feel the enemy lining the woman up in his sights, taking aim at her head as she continued to taunt the ones below her.

He had never met Rangiku Matsumoto in person. Only heard stories of her renowned laziness, her beauty and corresponding apathy towards her assigned duties, which had earned her the appropriate lack of respect from him. He would never have tolerated such weakness and sloth in any subordinate never mind his lieutenant, would have sent her back to the academy for as many remedial classes as it took to train her properly...

But for all of that, she was still a soul reaper. And if he didn't act fast, she would be a _dead_ soul reaper.

_Think. Barrier spells are out. Distract him. _A collage of pink spheres, his decoys, flew around the area, trying to draw the man's attention. _No good. He won't fall for it. Five seconds until he shoots. Four._

_Senbonzakura_, then. He could flash-step in time to intercept. He was probably one of the only people with the training and experience to calculate where the shot would come from, and how to properly angle it away it with such a thin piece of metal. _Three, two, one..._

The same deafening crack rang out, only slightly warped by the sound distortions, and in the split second before something impossibly heavy crushed his chest bones, he felt his mind split just as cleanly between pride at having calculated the shot so perfectly, and the shame of not realizing that he was exposing _himself_ to the same shot if the enemy merely adjusted their sights slightly upwards.

_Stupid. Failure. _He was the head of the noble house Kuchiki. He should not have made such a sentimental, foolish mistake, nor allowed a human to trick him a second time...

And yet he _lived_. He could hear his own breathing, could hear his own weapon's voice reaching out to him, forcibly pulling him back from the silent abyss he'd been plummeting into, forcing feeling back into his limbs no matter how much it hurt him, so that he might stand up again.

_Of course. With the amount of reishi I am using, the shot would be slowed significantly, even if I am not deliberately using it for such a purpose. _His power- the power that had made him a legend both among his house and the 13 squads- had saved him once more.

For now. There was also the small matter of that heavy metal thing still buried in his ribs, still wracking it with pain as it built up into a crescendo of rising energy. He now had nine seconds to dig the shell out of his chest, just as he had the one in his back. Nine seconds until either his shell detonated, or a third shot finished him off.

With _Senbonzakura_'s cooperation, he did it in four. The blood was incredible, but he would not be exploding. Better yet, Hyn Alumirr had exposed himself with those shots, revealing his position some 500 meters away from himself and Rangiku. Just a human in a dark camoflage uniform, some kind of metal apparatus around his firing arm that had to be the weapon he'd used all this time.

If only he could flash-step over there and deliver the final blow. If only he could stand. If _only_ his legs would move. _Four. _"Bankai. _Sebonzakura, Gokei._" Nothing. "_Senbonzakura, Kageyoshi_.

Nothing. His commands were all being muffled. A thousand curses welled up inside him and were banished by cold calmness. He should not blame the girl. _Stupid failure. It is my fault, no one else's. I succumbed to compassion. Compassion. Ginrei always said it would be the end of me. _Three.

The blood-stained shell lying next to him said nothing. Byakuya had thought Hyn would certainly make one final taunt before ending it, but now he remained respectfully silent, just like his prey. _Two._

He preferred it that way. No one would ever be able to say he'd been beaten by a superior opponent. No one, not even his killer, was ever superior to his skill. He'd only lost due to shielding the girl. _And the Ryoka trash's power is so strange, so impersonal, that it can hardly be called a battle anyway._ One.

Would Rukia understand? Hopefully she would not fall to the same mistake he had avoided and blame Matsumoto for causing this. Hopefully she would be happy for the rest of her days, grow up proud and free of the doubts Kurosaki Ichigo had been putting into her heart.

"Shinigami", the nearest shell finally remarked solemnly in his enemy's voice. "You call yourselves soul reapers. But_ I_ am the reaper here. Goodnight."

The sound of Death's Clarion rang out and light filled his unflinching eyes... and he was still here. Alive, and even more furious than he'd been with Matsumoto. There was a fire in his eyes as he rose up that had nothing to do with the black flame that had ignited near Alumirr's hiding spot.

"Kurosaki Ichigo", he spat as if the name were a curse. _I might have preferred death in battle over being saved by __**him**__._

* * *

><p>Like his target, Hyn Alumirr did not waste much time being confused by the angrily snarled name he'd heard the captain use, or giving much expression to his frustration at being denied a kill <em>again<em>. Whoever had generated the black flame which had blocked his sight had to be nearby.

Fortunately, _Death's Clarion_ was capable of picking up much more than sound when he used it at this magnified level. Sure enough, there was a new spiritual pressure signal he hadn't sensed until this moment-

Directly beneath him.

Standing up to run, he felt out to the newest shell in his growing web, the one that had just been bathed in a new kind of spiritual power. _Detonate. Now._

The resulting explosion wouldn't hurt anyone- if the Kurosaki boy had been paying any attention at all he would have stayed well clear of the flame. It was merely a distraction. A desperate one, but it was all he could do on such short notice.

Almost as an afterthought, he focused his mind into the shell still in Barton Eishinchi's pocket as he ran. "Group A, retreat. Group B, attack." That was the signal for the elder Spirit Eater to get everyone out of the Shinigami city- it was getting way too crowded in here for them to survive much longer. Even if Byakuya Kuchiki was no longer contributing to the battle and Zaraki had fled for the moment, they were still getting swamped. Their objective of luring as many Shinigami to this area as possible was a success. "And someone signal Kiatenin to move his lazy butt already. We've waited long enough."

Ten seconds. He'd gotten halfway down the stairwell when the wall behind him exploded. Kurosaki Ichigo came soaring in through the hole behind fragments of wood, orange spikes flapping in the breeze. His solid black katana came around, arcing for his neck... and froze. "Surrender!"

For a moment Hyn was as motionless as _Zangetsu_. Then he laughed. He couldn't help it; he'd been expecting instant death the moment a Shinigami got this close to him. They certainly had every right to be angry with him for all the damage he'd been causing. _But this kid... he's soft. Not a soldier. He still thinks that we can be persuaded to abandon our mission here. _Another thought occurred to him._ Rather, he wants to find some evidence that his dear friend Tatsuki, our Number One, can be persuaded._

"I still have one shot left. It's been ten seconds", he bluffed, aiming his empty weapon into that young-looking face. A fanatical gleam shone in his own red eyes. "Do you think your sword can reach me before I pop your skull, _chibi_? Do you?"

"Shut up! I'm not a kid!", Ichigo glowered back, unconsciously angling his blade back to block the shot. _A futile gesture- he doesn't have the intensive training the elder Kuchiki does. Even if he used that 'Getsuga Tensho' flame attack with good timing before, he can't possibly calculate how to block my shot with only his blade at this distance._

"A rookie then." Seeing his taunts were having the desired effect on the boy, he risked looking around. Around, meaning the web of shells he'd left around the south _Rukongai _district. He'd detonated several, but many other metal fragments remained, feeding him back enough input to figure out what was going on. _Barton's fired up his Ianzamento, O Homesombra. That should keep the soul reapers away long enough to evacuate everyone._

Everyone but him. He would be stuck, and this time there were no civilians to take hostage. Remembering the way Kurosaki's blade had frozen just before cutting into him, he smiled, dropped his _Ianzamento_ and raised both exposed hands. Just as Reeve Pastell had in their first duel on the train tracks. "Fine. You win, _chibi_. I surrender."

The similarity wasn't lost on him. "No tricks this time", Kurosaki insisted, making sure to kick the white metal shell down to the very bottom of the structure before grabbing the man's wrists and forcing thick black wool gloves onto his hands, which he idly noticed had deformed, cartoonish depictions of Ichigo's own face emblazoned on them.

"You're learning", Hyn observed, infuriatingly calm. Indeed, that was the smart move to try if his opponent had in fact been aiming to kill. If he'd managed to dodge that first slash and touch Kurosaki's skin just once with his bare hands, he could have drained him, finished him off and resumed his attack on the others, more powerful than ever with the substitute Shinigami's energy flowing through him. From the look of it, Ichigo had been prepared for exactly that.

_Another time_, he promised himself. Thanks to Kurosaki, he knew he would get one.

And unlike this naive_ chibi_, he would make it count. _I am the reaper..._

* * *

><p>AN: Once again, it might seem a bit out-of-character for both the impossibly badass Captains in this chapter to lose they way they have. Rule of conflict is one thing, but also remember their opponents are exploiting their weaknesses, just as they were created to do, and most of them have now unleashed their Ianzamento. Hope to have the next one up same time next week.


	23. Part 23: Creeping Shadows

Part 23: Creeping Shadows

* * *

><p>He had done better than he had hoped. Avoided anything worse than a few grazing cuts, landed several hits of his own, already lasted over ten times as long as he had with the last captain he'd faced-<p>

But all the same, Chad Yasutora knew that his time was running out.

In the confined alley where Yumichika had been raining spells down onto the towering Spirit Eater Nogrand Juno, dodging wild lunges had not been an easy prospect. Luring the wolf captain out of there helped, as did using the twin carapaces encasing his arms to block any attacks that came too close once the enraged Komamura had begun using _Shunpo._

An attempted to gut punch him with _Del Diablo _had not gone as well. Even when he stood still long enough for that to be an option, he had simply bitten into the armour- something Komamura would never have done normally. Into and through, so that Chad could now see bite marks marring the white surface of his right arm.

There was simply no holding him back. Jaw punches cracked or removed teeth, bruised skin beneath fur and tunic, unleashing the full force of the power he'd awakened in _Hueco Mundo_... None of it was even slowing him down.

_Animal brain_, he reminisced sadly behind his mop of brown hair. His pet cockatiel, who he had loved before and after it had stopped holding the soul of a child, could never quite understand the best way to avoid pain. When he needed to apply medication, the bird would resist him every step, even if he was affectionate normally. Animals reacted differently to pain than humans and Shinigami.

When they weren't being hurt, he found most of them cute. Refreshingly innocent, even. He loved seeing puppies and kitten in the shops. _A wolf, however... grown-up wolves are not cute. At all. _The wolf captain _felt_ the pain Chad was causing him, but did not understand the source.

At least he had overcome his fear. This was nothing like the straw-hatted Shunsui, who had treated him like a child before casually cutting him down. Trying to use his arms to hurl heavy projectiles again- pots, pans, even a statue- he was dismayed to see Komamura shred each and every one of them, either with claws or fangs.

Then a monolith of black rose up in the corner of his vision, and his feeling of dread got worse. Nogrand Juno, recovered from the combined attack of Komamura and himself. The strange noises that had swept through the area during combat seemed to have roused him.

"Plan C initialized", the Spirit Eater noted emotionlessly. Far larger than either of the others, the flat-topped man looked to be in no shape to continue fighting. "Commencing Ianzamento."

_Bad_, Chad thought. _Very, very bad. _Ianzamento meant some kind of new power, something that might tip the balance here, make this a two-on-one. He didn't fear pain or death. But he did fear failing to protect his friends. He had to stop it.

There was only one chance. Nogrand still looked extremely torn up, bleeding from a dozen slash wounds. He was the biggest one here, but also the weakest. Even without his Hollow powers, Chad had fought him to a draw earlier. _One hit. Get in one good, solid hit on his stomach and you can stop him from using his Ianzamento, whatever that is. _A well-aimed hit could crush the enemy's lungs, leave him unable to speak.

He wasn't sure if his grandfather would approve. Nogrand was still technically human, and that kind of wound would leave him crippled for life. On the other hand, from what he'd seen there wasn't much left in that mind that could be considered 'human'. _This** is** a problem_, he noted numbly. _I'll have to ask Ichigo about it later- he is smarter, he would know better about things like this. What is a human? The mind, or the body?_

Or was it the soul?

There was no further time to debate it with himself, especially not while defending against a second attacker. Making up his mind, he sprinted away from Komamura, rocketing towards the giant with all the energy left in his legs, a battle cry on his lips.

Contact. Nogrand had not even moved his arms to block. _Del Diablo_ struck true, digging into the exposed flesh and breaking bone. Eyes momentarily blocked by his hair from the awkward angle he'd slid into, he heard a shattering noise and assumed he'd hit something vital.

Then he stopped and stared. It _wasn't_ bone that had shattered. It was his enemy's_ skin_. Tiny bits of flesh-toned substance, flying everywhere away from the point he'd been struck. And beneath the skin layer...

A speeding truck hit him in the left side, sent him flying back in the instant he glimpsed the way the sun was reflecting off Nogrand. A fist of thick metal, he corrected once the world had stopped spinning. Silvery metal, like the kind that now covered the giant from head to toe. _Is he even human at all?_

"Interference will not be tolerated", the metal-clad giant growled back at him. "Commencing Plan C."

'Plan C' didn't seem to involve attacking him. It didn't matter- Komamura was all over him now, slashing and tearing with his claws until pieces of his shirt rained down as cloth ribbons. "Wake UP!"

He wasn't quite sure why he shouted that, except to expel the frustration that had been building up in him all this time. It was already clear nothing he said would affect the wolf Shinigami. And Nogrand was already fleeing in a different direction at a good jogging speed. Could he stop this 'Plan C', whatever it was, from happening even while saving his own life?

It sounded impossible. _It sounds like something Ichigo would accomplish._

Yasutora smiled, gritting through the multiple claw wounds, his arms going numb. "No. I've been over-thinking this. Thinking logically was never my strong suit, was it...?"

Of course neither one would answer him. They were both only puppets, machines, only attacking or carrying out their plans because they had been ordered to. Even Komamura had more independent will left in him than Nogrand, and neither one were fighting for a cause they believed in.

"That is the difference between us. That is why I _will_ stop you. Both of you!"

It was only then he realized his arms weren't numb any more. And it had not been pain that numbed them as he had figured.

Putting every ounce of strength he had left into a double hook bought him just enough time to examine the changes. The scales that had overtaken both the coverings on his exposed arms, the way they had truncated into spikes lined along the knuckles, developing thick bladed collars around the wrist that seemed to burn his opponent through mere touch.

_My powers. _He had done it, he knew. Powers connected to the soul had to be a reflection of the mind. When it was depressed, when it was focused, when it was angry... _Reflecting myself as I grow. Just as Ichigo's powers have grown to reflect _his _growth. We have grown so much, all of us._

He vowed that as soon as he'd figured out how to keep the wolf Shinigami at bay, Nogrand Juno would find out _exactly_ what that meant, metal skin or no.

* * *

><p>Izuru Kira didn't question what exactly his fellow lieutenant Matsumoto was doing when his squad arrived on the main street where the enemy had been sighted. He was merely glad to see she was still alive.<p>

She appeared to be dancing, leaping around at random, using her sword to fight an invisible enemy. While the reports had spoken of a Spirit Eater who's attack was invisible, it didn't take as long for the new 3rd squad captain's watchful eyes to drift downward, and grow large behind his concealing bangs at what they saw.

There was a living shadow on the ground, chasing her around. One moment it appeared as a cloud of whirling blades, the next a mass of writhing tentacles pulling her in. Following the single thin line connecting that shadow to the thing creating it, he spotted Barton Eishinchi and his allies not twenty meters away.

The elderly-looking Spirit Eater wasn't even _fighting_. He was talking to one of the women there, trying to calm her out of some kind of frenzy. But the small, stretched line extending along the ground was sign enough for him.

"Raise your head... _Wabisuke."_

Many had laughed at Kira's weapon upon seeing it the first time- a short sword in the shape of a bent hook of right angles, a horrible form if one's goal was to cut the opponent in battle. But then, he supposed the weapon of Eishinchi wasn't exactly regulation either. They would be a good match.

As he'd expected, a direct attack on the old man's back provoked a reaction from the living shadow, six tendrils shooting out to block Kira's own shadow as it glided across the ground. Six fewer for Matsumoto to deal with, for she had looked very hard-pressed just to survive.

"About time", she complained as he drew back to a safe distance, and close enough to her that the distortion wouldn't slur her words. "Where's the rest of your guys?"

"Creating a perimeter", he replied bleakly, not facing her. "I told you before I would not order my squad to disobey orders from captain Kuchiki. I am not required to obey my own orders."

She giggled at him. "Ah. That's more like it. Probably for the best anyway- this guy's not so nice."

Seeing the shadow retreat as well, Kira risked a glance over at his fellow lieutenant, looking at her with new found respect. In just the short time she'd been fighting, she'd managed to figure out that in order to block the thing's attacks, you had to move the shadow of your own _Zanpakuto_ to block it, not the weapon itself. Likewise in order to hurt its target, the thing had to touch their shadow, not their actual bodies. "Do not allow anyone to call you stupid again, Rangiku. You've done very well."

"It could've gone better", she grumbled, falling back. "I'm the only one who can insult the dog-lady over there enough to break her control over Komamura-taicho. Can you give me thirty seconds?"

"Not yet". He stared back with his exposed eye at the dervish of death Eishinchi's shadow had become. "We should wait a few minutes and get used to this enemy's speed and power-"

"Fine", she grumped beside him. "I didn't want to do this, but it looks like I have no choice."

That surprised him further. Matsumoto _never_ studied, and she only trained when her captain demanded it. Had she been holding some kind of special hidden technique back all this time?

Ahead of them, Eishinchi had turned his small head to spot the new arrival, independent of his shadow's attacks. Stepping away from his comrades until the sound distortion from earlier was gone, he sized up Izuru's hook-shaped blade carefully. "Hmm. Another one. Another lieutenant, by the feel of your spiritual energy."

"In that field, you have the advantage Spirit Eater", Kira admitted dully with a slight nod. "I've only just come here, and I can already perceive that everything about you is a lie."

"More perceptive than your comrade then", Barton noted. Even as he spoke, his shadow rushed into another series of frenzied slashes, attacks directed at the shadows of both Shinigami. "What have you seen?"

"You're _not_ actually an old man", Kira began, blocking and countering attacks with Wabisuke's hooked edge all the while. They didn't seem to be in as much danger as he'd figured, but he knew if he tried to attack Barton or one of the others he would be cut apart by the shadow. "At least, you're nowhere near as old as you appear to be. You don't move like one. And according to Hitsugaya-taicho's report, the Spirit Eater project only began forty years ago, and all their subjects required injections of G-cells from birth to gain their abilities seventeen years after the fact."

Barton nodded, quietly beckoning his comrades away as his shadow attacked, driving his walking stick into the dirt as if it was an anchor for the shadow, the darkness flowing out in all directions beneath his feet. "You are correct. It's a side effect of the injection. The effects vary from person to person, though I was not created as one of the infiltrator 'Spirit Dreamers'. In truth, I am only thirty years old this spring."

"And one of the other side effects is agonizing pain, isn't it?", Kira went on grimly. "Most humans wouldn't be able to put up with that without some way of coping with the pain, or the humiliation of accelerated ageing for that matter. You are not as amiable as you appear, sir Eishinchi."

"I do deplore violence", his opponent maintained cordially. "But yes, _O Homesombra _is a part of me, a product of my own mind. Another me, you might say. It is different from all the other _Ianzamento._"

_Valuable intel, _Kira acknowledged. _I doubt this one holds much loyalty towards his creator after what she put them through. Perhaps he could be convinced to-_

Too late, he realized he'd let himself become distracted. One of the spikes on the ground beneath his feet slid a little bit too far out, pricking the chest of his own shadow and drawing rivulets of blood down his black Shinigami's tunic. _No defence possible against that. And shadows have no physical weight- zero multiplied by two is still zero. _Wabisuke's normally-crippling effects would be useless against this enemy.

Dodging back again, fighting to avoid clutching his wound by reflex, he managed to cut a few more illusory limbs off before seeing them grow back once more. He couldn't last much longer. "Which leaves me with one final question... _why_? Why have you led this violent attack against our homes? For you are not the only one here who despises warfare, Spirit Eater."

"Yes, I saw the sign on your sword hilt", Barton admitted. "The sign of the 3rd squad, the marigold. To make fights ghastly and terrifying as they should be, remove the so-called glamour of it... but there is a reason I am here. To protect my comrades. Princess Adre, Miss Yui, Demalza, Hyn, Lanis, Tatsuki, and even the rejects, the _Fallos_... they are all deserving of life. Even if they obey Zatsua's directive to attack you Shinigami, I will do whatever I must to help them survive it. Even if I must stand here and let _O Homesombra _kill you."

Kira sighed, back to his usual demeanour. _So much for that then. _Protecting one's friends to the exclusion of everything else was a poor tactical outlook, dictated by emotions, but he understood it. _I hope Matsumoto's almost ready. _She had fled into the darkness of their surroundings after hearing his coded phrases, hopefully safe from _O Homesombra_ inside structures without any illumination. It had certainly stepped up its efforts to bring _him_ down.

"Hey... thanks for this little chat Shinigami. You don't seem like the talkative type, and I know it's distracting to speak as you fight, but I do appreciate it."

_Go, Matsumoto. _The jagged blades were all around his shadow now. They'd grown longer still in the afternoon sun. No way to escape. His shadow was surrounded by sinister edges. "True. I'm not a big talker normally. My late captain, Gin Ichimaru, was much more chatty. But, as you said... it can be distracting."

_A distraction for a distraction_, he observed gloomily as Barton's shadow wavered a moment in surprise. Time enough for Matsumoto to vault up onto the far roof directly in front of where Demalza Sanhas had been fleeing to-

And her shirt was completely open. Still inches from death, Kira found it easy enough to avert his eyes, but he could see Demalza staring, all thoughts of controlling the wolf Shinigami forgotten. "Nice, huh? Better than you'll ever have, cow!"

Though angered, Barton kept his reaction limited to only a gruff chuckle. "Crude, but effective. So that is your secret weapon?"

Matsumoto didn't bother replying. The howl that came up from Demalza was answer enough. Beside her Yui tried, but quickly abandoned any notion of curing their third member of the seething rage that had overtaken her. "You... pathetic... blonde... bimbo", she snarled, closer than ever to her victim in savage tone of voice. "I'll rip you apart! RRAAAGHHH!"

_Now_ Barton looked worried. "Damn. Yui, please _run_. Return to the gate and rendezvous with the others. I'll follow in a moment."

It was more than fury, Kira realized after another minute of the howling echoing through the streets, interspersed with dodging blades of shadow and getting nicked again- this time on the back of the right foot. The blue-haired woman was experiencing terrible pain by the sound of it, her howl growing less and less human by the moment. And that hair...!

The hair was growing. Covering her, becoming closer to a coat of dark fur.

Once he was sure Matsumoto had buttoned her shirt back up again, he turned. "Well done. Only you could have exploited that weakness. But you should go now- find the others. There are several enemies still unaccounted for."

"You're not my boss", she protested, staring down at Kira's wound. "It's two against two now. I know- she's transforming, right?"

That seemed to be the case. As the two lieutenants watched in-between dodging the other enemy's attacks, Demalza grew claws on each limb, her ears shifting into corner shapes, the nose rising up and flattening into a snout. Beneath that, vicious fangs were filling the mouth, warping the agonized howl even further.

As Kira watched, Barton looked distressed but not accusing, even though it was clearly Matsumoto who had caused the transformation. In fact, after a while longer he ducked away and ran, and his shadow followed shortly, limited by distance. "Nothing I can do to help her now", he claimed sadly to Kira in his final words before departing. "Her _Ianzamento_ is just as uncontrollable as mine."

"Two against one now", his ally observed confidently once the howling had lowered back to a manageable level.

"The Order of Battle, Matsumoto. I'd rather face this creature alone so we don't have to worry about hitting each other, and I'd really rather avoid ever doing _that _again. Go now. Help the others."

Seeing the fangs pop out of Demalza's jaw line did much more to convince her than he ever could. They were staring at a blue-furred bipedal _wolf_ now, Komamura's size or greater. "Oh fine. I've already made my sacrifice for the day and I'm all out of silver bullets. I think I'll chase down Mr. Seven. Bye now!"

By the time he realized who she meant by that, it was too late to protest even if she was willing to listen. _Seven... as in Shinchi._

There was no helping it. He had his own fight to deal with now. If Rangiku was killed fighting the old man's living shadow it would be her fault for not following proper tactics or battle order. Cold, but that was the way things were.

And Kira Izuru had a great deal of experience with being cold inside. _That is war._

* * *

><p>Prince Samora Shihoin was supposed to be the amateur here, but he wasn't the one who gasped in shock when they finally arrived at the spot where Chad Yasutora was said to be fighting a renegade Captain. Rukia couldn't help herself, both at the idea that the young human would do something so rash and suicidal in the first place, or that he was somehow still<em> alive<em> and fighting.

"If it were Ichigo", she muttered darkly from their spot on the roof, "I wouldn't be surprised by either."

Beside her, the prince watched the duel with near equal wonder, his chocolate-toned hair sliding back as he picked at his rings idly. "You chose for us to lead, miss Rukia. Even now, our main priority should be the protection of humans, yes? Like the loyal shell of a turtle?"

That was true, she knew. Chad didn't look very human at the moment- both his limbs had grown out into monstrous appendages of black and white that would look more at home on a Hollow. They tore into the wolf captain with the same ferocity as his own limbs, and for a moment she worried he had lost himself to the battle.

"I'll save him", Rukia decided. "He knows me. You lead the others towards the center. Nii-san and the rest are out there, and most of them are injured." She did not feel the need to mention the ache she felt coming from her big brother's aura out there in the war zone. He was most certainly hurt in both body and pride... and being rescued by the sister he had always sworn to protect might be an even worse blow to the latter.

Not that Samora would be much better. Like many of the younger soul reapers he viewed Byakuya as an idol, a standard of discipline, grace and power that all should aspire to. More out of a firm belief that the elder Kuchiki could do no wrong than sucking-up of any kind, Samora had done everything he could to assure her brother that he was a proper fiancee. _So the sooner he learns that Nii-san isn't perfect, the better._

"Understood. Be safe." Nodding, the prince motioned forth the others with them, a collection of stray Shinigami from the government district- no more than a dozen- who had wished to join the action upon hearing the news of an attack. With this group approaching from the east and Unohana's entire squad from the west, whatever advantage the enemy had managed to secure with their attack would soon disappear.

The closer she got as she descended to the ground, the worse the young man looked. Claw marks ran along the length of his body in multiple spots along his shirtless body, and they did not look fresh. As he leaped to avoid a savage lunge, she could see the way his left leg was listing from some kind of sprain.

"Step back, Sado-kun", she ordered briskly once she'd hit the ground. "I'll finish this."

Eyes still veiled by his long brown hair, he looked around as if noticing her for the first time. "What? Rukia? No... you have to stop... have to stop..."

Komamura snarled and lunged again before he could finish. Without the speed of _Shunpo_, she was relieved to note. If he had been using that, even she would not have been able to keep up with him. As it was, she didn't find it too hard to slip in between the two, her beautiful milk-white _Zanpakuto_ out and ready.

"Iba told us", she affirmed coldly. "Someone controlling him. I have permission from Yamamoto-taicho to kill him, if that is what it takes to stop him from hurting people."

"No", Chad grumbled behind her weakly. He had never sounded so frenzied before now, even when they'd combined talents against a Hollow which, at that time, had been invisible to him. "You have to..."

"You've seen his power firsthand", she cut him off, keeping both eyes steady on Komamura as he sized up this new prey. Small, certainly, but fresh. An unknown quality. "We can't risk it. If he united with the Spirit Eaters, they could find a way to completely turn him, allow him to use his mind while still under control. A Gotei 13 Captain is an incredibly powerful resource, Sado. We cannot let him fall into the enemy's hands. No matter what... _Sode no Shirayuki!_"

It was almost surprising that the ice worked, freezing the wolf's movements and holding him; she was under no illusions she was anywhere close to the Captain's match normally. Against this feral, more animalistic version, hopefully tired out from destroying Chad and Yumichika... they would soon find out.

More white poured from the glowing blade, flowing across the ice casket, reinforcing its strength and slowing Komamura's movements further. Only once the movement stopped did she lower her weapon and face Chad. Softened and smiled. "You should be very proud. Your powers have grown. Even Ichigo would have problems fighting that one."

He didn't seem to be aware of the compliment. Moving closer so she could see his haggard eyes, he shook his head, panting. "Rukia, you have to... stop him. Captain... was only diversion. Big giant man... going to... explode!"

"Explode", she repeated. Anyone else she might have doubted, but Yasutora wouldn't joke about something this, even half-delirious with exhaustion. "Where? How?"

"Nogrand Juno. Big Spirit Eater", the young human gasped. "Covered in metal. Plan C, something about Plan C... you have to..."

She extended her spiritual senses, and cursed. Alone it would have been easy to spot without even concentrating, but among this many other high spiritual pressure signatures, Nogrand Juno hardly stood out. Unless you focused entirely on him, you wouldn't notice that his power was steadily growing higher and higher as he moved closer to the heart of the district. _Gathering power into himself, gathering it from everything around him..._

"His _Ianzamento_", she growled. " '_Fin Absoluto_'. We just weren't sure exactly what it was until now."

"Explode", her friend managed. "Giant explosion. Don't know..."

"A walking bomb", she confirmed angrily. "I read the reports. More than any of the rest, that guy wouldn't hesitate to give up his life for Zatsua's cause. With enough power gathered in his body, he could destroy this whole district."

Chad seemed to sag against her far smaller frame. "S-sorry... couldn't stop..."

"Don't be." Extending her senses again to point herself in the Spirit Eater's direction, a new resolve guiding her moves. "You did well. Let me take it from here. This is _my_ home... before I was adopted by Nii-san, this broken-down slum was all I knew."

Behind her, the ice prison shuddered, and broke. The wolf-man inside didn't care how resolute she looked or sounded.

It didn't matter. She knew these streets. Knew every corner and perch, even if it had already suffered massive damage from the fights. Her loyal sword flew up to stop fangs descending towards her neck, and a puff of ice drove back the claws again as she turned to face the feral Captain as a real enemy.

"I'm sorry, Komamura-Taicho. But this is my home. _No one_ is going to blow it up on my watch."

* * *

><p>AN: As I explained in the update of my other active story, I plan to alternate working updates now. However, because this chapter is so short and my other one so long, I will probably finish the next one for this first.


	24. Part 24: Masquerade

**Part 24: Masquerade**

* * *

><p>Sounds of The Confrontation roused Orihime Inoue from her rest. Realizing she's been dreaming, she became suddenly aware of the silence on the ground floor, now that there had been a lull in the fighting rocking the city.<p>

There were sounds upstairs though.

Swinging herself free of the table- she could hardly believe how comfortably she'd slept on such a thing- she looked around. Her spiritual senses remained unrefined and crude compared to her hosts, but after her time training with them she could at least pick out the number of signals remaining out there, and occasionally even tell them apart from the 'texture' of their feeling.

_Kurosaki-kun. _Alive. Not even engaged at the moment, and healthy and alive. _I should prepare something... I can surely do more than just heal them when they return. Maybe the Shinigami have bread and sugar stashed away here somewhere and I can bake a cake._

_Sado-kun. _Badly injured, but also alive. Also no longer fighting, which she took to be a good thing. There was a calm and wizened presence fighting near him which she couldn't make out, then two more colossal spiritual powers too hazy to recognize.

_Tatsuki-chan. _Still waiting in some other area, not fighting. More powerful than she'd ever felt her, as before this incident her spiritual pressure had not even been detectable compared to a Shinigami.

She closed her eyes tight. Miracle of miracles. So the nightmare had not come true. None of her friends had died in battle as she slept to replenish her strength. Her nightmares of The Confrontation- and those nightmares remained vivid and plentiful- might yet happen, but not for a long while. _Thank whatever Gods exist. _Satisfied with that outcome, she breathed out heavily, focused herself upwards towards the medical ward where Narahama had been tending to the wounded.

Only she couldn't.

There was nothing there. No trace of spiritual energy whatsoever. _Did she move them to a different ward? Is this place under attack too? She should've gotten my help with that._

Only one way to find out. "Narahama-san? Are you there? Narahama-san?"

Nothing. It was like walking through a tomb; utter silence without a trace of life. Feeling a vague feeling of unease from her accompanying spirits, she raced up the stairs into the second floor.

"Narahama-san! Where are you?!"

The healer was waiting in silence, facing away from her. Inoue was about to ask why she hadn't responded when the bodies caught her attention and she gasped in fright. "N-Nara...?"

They were no longer the wounded. Though she had been often accused of excessive optimism by everyone she knew, Orihime would have bet a year's supply of donuts that every Shinigami except Rutori Igenari had been on the verge of a full recovery when she'd gone to sleep. Certainly, none of them had been in danger of dying from energy loss.

Things had changed. Half a dozen bodies lay upon the cots arranged in the room, each one uniformly ashen gray-skinned. Just as Igenari had been.

Igenari, who was no longer here, she noticed.

_How? _How had this happened? They had all been alive, playful and strong, more than willing to endure a little pain and encourage the healers in their duty. Even a human girl like herself. Now they were dead. All of them. She could not see a single sign of life- most had even had their hair greyed out the same way or lost completely.

Appalled and fighting the urge to vomit or cry, she stared into her fellow healer's back. "N-Narahama-san... What happened...?"

The woman remained wrapped in newly-sallow robes, sluggish and deliberate. A strange smile on her lips. "Isn't it obvious, Inoue? I killed them. I killed them all."

"No". It was the only thing that came to mind, a simple, flat-out denial instead of the angry questioning most of her friends would resort to after such a betrayal. "No! I'll save them! _Soten Kisshun_! I REJECT!"

Her spirits came forth, bright lights in the sudden darkness that had overtaken the afternoon sunlight... but even before they returned to her hair she knew the attempt would not work. The fat blond Shinigami closest to her had been completely drained of power. Now he was just a lump of lifeless flesh, blank eyes staring back emotionlessly as if to mock her efforts.

"_Soten Zanshun_! I REJECT!"

Nothing. The girl next to the fat one, who had looked about Rukia's age, hung limp. Again and again Inoue beckoned her powers forth, and every time it was like trying to restore a piece of paper to life.

_Not as bad. Not as bad a nightmare as The Confrontation. _That thought, though desperate, was enough to get her mind off the horror-

And get her mind focused on the outstretched hand slowly approaching her exposed forehead. Focus and time enough to back away from it like it was an assassin's dagger, which it may as well have been.

Narahama Sakuya's good humour and bluster were both gone. In their place was only dire purpose, coupled with a wry amusement that didn't look like it belonged on such a hardened face as she smiled and licked her lips. "What's the matter, Inoue? Don't you like me?"

She retreated, nearly hitting the step. "You...?"

The grin widened. "Do you _like_ me, Inoue? Take me. Hold me. It'll only hurt for a second."

"You... YOU'RE NOT NARAHAMA-SAN!"

She hadn't meant to make a scream of the last few words, but didn't regret it- if it brought someone, anyone who was still alive running to her aid, it was worth it.

"Sharper than she remembers you, that's for certain", Not-Narahama observed, still disturbingly excited at the way Orihime flinched away from that exposed hand. "Yes, that's right. I've drained all her memories along with her energy. Did you know that she's a... well. Enough about that. This is creepy enough for me, just being in her body."

"Who... are you?"

Narahama's body gave her an overly formal bow in return, continuing with the creepy grin. "Mefist Kiatenin, _Ingenium Comedent_, at your service. You were very dedicated trying to restore Rutori Igenari's body with your powers, weren't you? I know this, because that was actually me lying slumped in this hovel."

"B-bu... but you... you can't!"

"Stupid", the impostor made an insulting bark of the word, chuckling. "You are so stupid. All of the other people in the world are so incredibly stupid. Do I really have to spell it out for you? Number One wasn't the only spy we tricked you into bringing into the Shinigami realm. It was a trick. When Rutori Igenari died from one drain too many and we knew we would have unwanted guests soon, Zatsua-sama saw an opportunity too good to pass up. She's one of the only other smart people out there really, miss Zatsua..."

The woman's theatrics hadn't thrown off her own concentration as much as Orihime wanted; in a split-second, she had flesh-stepped over and grabbed the leg she had been using to creep towards the stairwell. "Naughty. I'll have to punish you-"

"TSUBAKI!"

Again she hadn't meant to scream, and again it worked out better that way- the shout cut Kiatenin off, disoriented her (or was it a her?) enough that the doll-like ninja spirit could strike, cutting along the flank enough to make her let go of Orihime's leg, letting her tumble down the stairs... and throw her other hand out to project an orange triangle between herself and the Spirit Eater.

Tsubaki wouldn't mind. A combative manifestation of her own spirit dressed in the baggy garb of the ninja, he had made it very clear to her in that strange empath-feeling her spirits communicated with that he would gladly sacrifice himself if need be to save her life.

She hoped it wouldn't come to that. It had happened too often already, felt like great weights tying her down. Digging her heels in, she forced herself back up to retreat further.

Tsubaki followed after, already severely injured by a grimacing Kiatenin. "A spirit extension? _ Really_? Have you learned nothing at all from fighting us, or are you really that foolish, girl?"

Backing up further but still unwilling to leave Tsubaki, she frowned. This was nothing like Adre. There was no empathy to be found in this one, possibly distorted beyond recognition from face they had stolen. This one was... well. She didn't want to use the term so quickly with a human that she'd just met, but he certainly seemed to enjoy the fear he was causing as much as any Hollow. Particularly now that his intentions had been revealed in the way he'd been reaching for her skin.

"Get away", she warned, trying to draw on the anguish Tsubaki was sharing with her to make her timid voice sound more stern. "I said _get back_! You won't be stealing anyone else's life!"

But it seemed like an empty threat, she realized. Every barrier technique she knew, every spirit of the _Shun Shun Rikka_, were all composed of the same energy. Hers. And this false woman before her could suck it all up with a touch and become stronger. _Only one way to stop him!_

Her eyes nearly closed out of reflex, she watched the Spirit Eater lunge forward hungrily... and thrust her leg upward with every ounce of strength she could muster/

"G-gahh...! You little witch!"

Eyelids sliding apart again, she could hardly believe the sight. Her kick had come as a complete surprise to Kiatenin. He had reeled back, trying not to clutch at his groin in pain. And failing.

There was no time to waste. She had to be brave now. Ichigo, Sado, and Tatsuki all had their ways of fighting. Of being brace. They all looked angry when they did it, but sometimes that was necessary. Another surprise: for once, Orihime found she had no lack of righteous anger to draw on.

This wasn't like Princess Adre. This was a monster, someone who had given up on a positive life for anyone long ago. A second strike- a karate chop Tatsuki had taught her to protect against lecherous boys- took the fake Narahama in the chest, and a low kick knocked him into the boards, shattering them.

"G-go now", she asked, already feeling the pangs of guilt overriding her anger with the man. "Go back to Zatsua, you horrible person!"

"I'm about to", her enemy snarled before shooting both arms out to grab her. For the first time, Inoue felt the same sensation Ichigo had undergone many times now, the graying out of vision and the way her muscles suddenly became like heavy rubber. Like as then, the longer it went on, the harder it became to hang on to consciousness, to fight the paralysis, the harder to realize what was-

Free. The sensation had vanished, along with her sight of Not-Narahama's leering face. The one who had been draining whatever spiritual energy she had lay motionless on the floor near the exit, and behind her she could hear familiar laughter, and see a familiar face.

Not that those two matched up. It was the body of Ichigo Kurosaki, to be sure, but a voice that didn't gel with what she remembered of him at all. For a moment the similarity between him and Kiatenin's supposed ability chilled her, but then she forced herself to smile up at him faintly. _Kon. It's just Kon, in Kurosaki-kun's body. He saved me._

He was really getting into it, now, posing and pointing dramatically at his fallen enemy in ways the real Ichigo would never be caught doing. "Wah-hah-hah! Don't bother getting up, you slug! You're now up against the mightiest Mod Soul ever, the mighty Kon! You can't win!"

"Interesting", an elderly voice came from behind the cupboards, preluding Matoba Arisawa's appearance. "I hate to say it after all the trouble you've put me through Mod Soul, but well done. That one could have potentially infiltrated Soul Society's ranks with his _Ianzamento_'s power."

Orihime blinked, adrenaline rush finally wearing off. "His power?"

Matoba smiled, and for once he did not seem afraid or even apologetic. "Indeed, miss Inoue. The power to take on the appearance and voice of anyone he has ever drained. I wasn't there when this one was created, but I overheard you talking to him upstairs and put two and two together."

Stepping between Kiatenin and Inoue, Kon flexed whatever muscle he could find in Ichigo's frame. "And then I stepped in and kicked his butt!"

"Only after I told you that he can't drain a flesh body being used by a Mod Soul", Matoba pointed out dryly. "Before that you were terrified of him. I thought I'd have to go out there myself."

"It's fine", she held up her hands innocently, knowing by now the tiff between the old man and Ichigo's pet Mod Soul. "I hate fighting, but I..."

"You knew what that wretch could do if he acquired your energy", the elder Arisawa pointed out, scratching his fuzzy head as if wanting for a cigar. "I saw it. Even Narahama, bless her soul wherever it has gone, knew of your special relationship. Not only with the young Kurosaki boy, but numerous others in Soul Society have fondness for you. By duplicating your face and your voice he could wreak terrible psychological damage, as if my niece wasn't bad enough already. You were very brave, girl."

Gasping, she pulled further away from Kiatenin's fallen body. She hadn't thought of it that way before. "Just a few lessons in self-defence... from Tatsuki-chan. You should see what I can do with a leek."

Matoba nodded, chuckling. "I'm glad to hear my niece has grown up with such loyal friends that they would follow her this far."

_Then why?_, she wanted to howl at him. _Why did she turn on us? Why did she help these people enter Soul Society? Why does she have to fight Kurosaki-kun?!_

But there was no time to elaborate. They all felt the stirring malice first before the Spirit Eater's body rose into view, battered but alive. And smiling in a fashion Inoue did not like one bit. "Sorry to interrupt this little pity-party."

"Your mission has failed", the professor snapped, defiant even as Kon scrambled backwards, his rush of courage all too brief. "Go back to your master and pray she's feeling merciful, or stand down and wait for Shinigami justice. The choice is yours."

"Failed?" Narahama's cherub face looked suprised, then the voice began to shift as it spoke, along with the body. "I'll admit I had to blow my cover sooner than I wanted, but I've only just begun, old fool."

She nearly retched at the sight. If this Kiatenin was a mirror, then he was the most unflattering mirror ever, twisting a copy of her own winsome eyes and mouth into a twisted, prideful smirk better suited to some high-ranking Espada. "If I were you, I'd take the girl and head back to our world post-haste. Things are going to get _very_ unpleasant here soon enough, and to be honest our fight was never with either of you. We haven't killed a single human in our mission."

"Why do I not feel comforted by that?", Matoba snarled back, imposing himself between Orihime and the duplicate, surely sensing her distress at the sight, even if the enemy was no stronger than he had been when she'd kicked him in the groin. "Still want to be a hero, Mod Soul?"

She could sense his reluctance. Even the look into her eyes- her real eyes, not the windows to hell of the impostor- had been accidental. But it did the trick. Ichigo's body sprang forth with newfound energy crossing his arms and giving a hearty laugh. "Hah-hah-hah! Don't think you can get away just because you can turn into Orihime! I'm way stronger than her or you!"

"Says the Mod Soul borrowing a human's form", Matoba muttered from behind him, pinching the bridge of his wrinkled nose. "This could get confusing."

But the duplicate did not try to fight at all. As Kon clumsily lunged, the body seemed to shrink away into less than a tenth of its original size. He looked about in confusion for a moment, then a sparrow flew past his nose and out the window.

"Animals too", the professor cursed. "He must have grabbed one here when no one was looking. We need to hurry."

They were almost out the door when it hit her. Really hit her. All the Shinigami upstairs, all the patients she'd helped to undo their wounds... they were all gone now. All because of one spy.

_No_. She looked Matoba in the eye. He seemed to read her mind. _Because of the person who told the spy to do that, to hide in wait and kill everyone when I was asleep._

"Don't waste your energy in hate", the old man offered tenderly. "Zatsua's had a rough time of things. Your histories are not so different, having lost both your parents and brother at an early age..." Seeing her confusion, he shrugged. "The Kurosaki boy told me some things. Do not think me a gossip."

She shook her head, feeling the pressure of all those deaths shift, becoming easier to bear. Her initial anger felt like a distant memory already. "I don't hate anyone. Not even that person. Not even Zatsua. I just want to stop them, before anyone else gets hurt." Rising, she took his hand in a newly firm grip. "Let's hurry, before Kiatenin hurts someone else. Then we'll make a cake and celebrate."

"He was right to flee", Matoba murmured softly as the girl marched past him into the street. "He's no match for you."

* * *

><p>Sajin Komamura growled in frustration, the snarl going all the way up his furry throat until it sounded like a particularly angry and old motor. Somehow, fighting enemies disguised as his colleagues never ceased to push his buttons.<p>

It wasn't just one of them- he had fought his best friend Kaname Tosen in the Winter War and avoided hesitating much back then. It was the fact that they kept trying the same trick over and over. First there had been the enemy disguised as Tetsuzaemon Iba, his loyal lieutenant. A pair of Shinigami from Squad 11 he didn't know followed that, making him wonder why they'd bothered with the disguises. Now he was faced with two more, taking on the form of one of Kurosaki Ichigo's friends, and more recognizably Rukia, the younger sister of Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. This was past trying to get him to fight less effectively, and more likely sheer spite for him. Malice, to throw so many enemies at him in the guise of allies.

For that was what they were. Enemies. His wolf instincts never lied- they could always sniff out who among a crowd meant him harm or had evil intentions toward him. This creature wearing the slender body of Rukia Kuchiki couldn't fool his nose or his heart. He was surrounded by enemies posing as friends, which might have fooled any of the other captains with identical spiritual pressure signs.

A horrifying thought occurred to him as he crossed blades with her milky-white _Zanpakuto_ again and again, releasing sparks. What if these _weren't_ just convincing illusions? What if whatever this unknown enemy was could control others, hollow-out their living bodies to make room for their own malicious essence? It seemed too evil a tactic to be real, but then he'd seen firsthand all the myriad cruelties that a skilled illusionist could manage. _ Sosuke Aizen would do it._

The possibly alone made him even angrier. Ignoring his wounds, he reached out with a furious roar and swatted the fake Sado away, gripping his weapon tightly to call upon its greatest power, as he had with the Iba imposter. "Rraaghh! BAN...KAI! Divine Retribution!" _Tosen._

Just as they would had they been the real thing, his enemies paled in recognition, vaulting back as the massive armoured giant appeared, Komamura perched on its shoulder. His Bankai was well-named, for now it would exact retribution on those who dared impersonate honoured Shinigami. While the giant's massive swings following his own sword would surely accelerate the horrible damage the surrounding buildings had been taking from the fight, Yamamoto had taught him long ago not to be too overly concerned about it when dealing with particularly brutal enemies in their home. Buildings could be remade. Not so a friend. _Why... why did you turn?_

The Sado impersonator was running away. He couldn't have that. The giant swung down with him, its massive blade enough to completely block the street he'd been running down. When Not-Rukia flew into the air to reach him, the giant's other hand reached forth to intercept, quickly clamping down on her attempts to activate the icy powers of her own weapon.

He could see her struggling with it from his perch, her expression nearly as hopeless as it had been when she'd been slated for execution. In a few more seconds _Sode no Shirayuki_ would be taking massive damage, might even fracture from the giant's great strength. With her free hand, she began casting some kind of Kido spell but drew that hand back in complete shock when for some reason the spell didn't work.

This _had_ to be the real thing. Rather, the body of the real thing. Every move had been exactly as the real Rukia would have made it.

His head was pounding hard, his ears rushing from the noise. These imposters had killed his friends and were wearing their skins in grotesque mockeries. He owed it to them to at least avenge their deaths. _Byakuya-taicho... I'm sorry. I couldn't save your sister from this fate. All I can do now is kill. I will rip them apart, make them bewail the fate that led them here! Kill! Rip! Bite! Tear!_

The third impostor's strike knocked him out of his killing frenzy, a spear blow to the giant's wrist that blossomed into fire in his own, made them drop their prey before they could be crushed. The third impostor, who had taken the form of a noble of the house Shihoin. Prince Samora, he believed the name was. A tall man, as brown skinned as his more famous aunt Yoruichi with numerous gold rings as piercings across both sides of his scalp. The weapon in his hands which had been thrown into the giant's wrist and caused him such pain was a long metal spear pole with a bamboo leaf-shaped blade, a _yari_ type. The false prince said nothing, merely recalling the strange weapon back to his hand by some trick of _reiatsu._

Regardless of what it had accomplished, the false prince's _Zanpakuto _was the pinprick of a needle to Tenken and its master. Elsewhere he could see Not-Rukia was opening her mouth, saying angry words to him, but Komamura could hear nothing of it over the rushing sound in his head. Newly incensed, he moved with Tenken to face all three of his targets at once, the last of whom was already attempting to throw his spear a second time, this time merely deflecting harmlessly off Tenken's armour. The prince was speaking as well, but again he could not hear it.

He didn't need to hear. He needed to kill all these impostors, to rip them apart as a warning to all who would mock the Soul Society in such a ghoulish way. Tenken's wide sweep forced all three to take to the air, whereupon the captain could no longer restrain himself from action, leaping forward to catch the fake Sado with a claw, this time penetrating through the new bone armour he had grown earlier in the fight to rend the flesh beneath.

With one bite, he could avenge Ichigo's friend. Only the worst of fiends were deserving of such barbarity closer to the coup de grace of the wild dog he had been said to resemble, but these creatures had shown themselves to be all that and then some. _Tosen betrays. Everyone betrays. Kill them all, before they betray. _Swallowing whatever doubts may have remained, he descended, fangs glistening-

"_Sajin Komamura_!"

He stopped, inches away from the fake human's neck. Not-Rukia and Not-Samora had both been rushing to the scene with weapons drawn, desperate to try and stop him.

They couldn't have. They didn't need to. Because there was only one man whose voice could have possibly reached him through the feverish battle rage. And as he heard it, Komamura knelt down and trembled in terror at the implications.

It was the face and voice of his master that had reached his pointed ears. The head captain's wrinkled face and long beard, coupled with the same razor warning from his special senses that this _wasn't_ actually the kind old man who had raised him from a wolf pup, as if his siding with the impostors wasn't evidence enough of that. _Not Yamamoto._

"_It is time for you to stop this foolishness __**at once, Sajin Komamura**_!"

Which meant that the real Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto was dead, and most likely the Soul Society along with him.

The captain allowed this realization to break him for only a moment. He could afford nothing more. Not now, when it was all up to _him_ to avenge his people. _All_ of his people. Even to his last breath.

He howled out his grief into the sky and poured his fury into the attack.

* * *

><p>"Sound distortion", Kira Izuru confirmed, his dull tone betraying none of the alarming implications of his latest discovery. No <em>Kido<em> spell would work while he was in this zone of distortion. Had he not activated his _Shikai_ before this had happened, that might have been rendered useless as well.

Regardless, against the raging wolf-beast Demalza Sanhas had become, he would have greatly appreciated being able to use _Kido _spells. With the spells he could have bought more time, kept the beast at bay while devising some way to disable her claws with Wabisuke without being shredded.

Demalza Sanhas' blue-furred transformed state was naturally too feral to execute any real strategy of its own, but made up for it with everything else. She didn't even need to drain any more spirit energy to be physically stronger than him. She was quick in the way that only completely wild predator animals could be... and she was growing quicker.

And given the way none of the reinforcements he'd felt the presence of had reached him yet, he considered it a fair estimate that she was _still_ manipulating Komamura's own animal instincts even as she tried to rip Kira's throat out with those saliva-dripping teeth.

_Still a wild animal_, he tried to calm himself with the reminder while rolling out of the way of the next pounce. _A beast without reason. Which can be fooled like animals in the human world._

Again, there were about a dozen _Kido_ traps he could have used to easily win this. _Always the hard way_, he mused gloomily, running one hand through the bang over his eye. "But I _will_ stop you. I owe it to Matsumoto after our last encounter."

The blue wolf didn't seem to hear him. It lunged, turning to try and catch him with its teeth as he rolled aside. _Can't tire it out even with Wabisuke increasing its weight. So long as it's conscious it will continue to leech energy from its surroundings by instinct. _"Alright. Follow me."

The house he'd chosen at random was large, a slant-roofed affair with little battle damage to show so far, the standard set of two rows of wooden beams holding the ceiling braces up above a table and chair set not unlike the barracks of his own squad. _My squad_, he reflected sadly, still faintly amused by how strange that sounded. _Perhaps it would not sound so unfitting if I had actually earned it by achieving Bankai._

Ah well. One step at a time. Bankai could wait for another day. Izuru cared nothing for rank in of itself, only that squad 3 continued to serve Soul Society loyally despite the vile treachery of not one but _two_ consecutive squad captains. _And should __**I**__ ever find myself with a sudden urge to turn on my benefactors as they did, I'll warn someone. Our reputation has suffered enough damage already._

And there the creature was, bounding after him through a window, ripping through the screen covering it. Leaping high, Izuru lashed out with Wabisuke... at the ceiling. The flat blade could not even cut the wood, and upon landing on the other side he was nearly tripped up by a swipe of furred claw. "One."

The blue wolf replied by letting loose a howl directly into his face, something at least approaching sonic level. When the world around him had stopped spinning, he noticed almost as an afterthought that it had raked him across the side with its claw. "Well done."

Wabisuke flashed out again, once more striking the ceiling beams in a barrage of harmless cuts. This time when Demalza charged, his weapon cut into the floor, kicking up bits of wood and cloth that had already had their weight doubled through contact. Enough to distract her for a brief moment.

"Two." Kira sighed. In doing that, he'd tipped his hand. Any sentient enemy would have caught on... But this wasn't even a Hollow. This was an enraged beast, a predator that would chase their prey for however long it took to wear them down and make a meal of their flesh. _I wonder if those fangs drain Reiatsu faster than her claws do. Best not find out._

But the creature surprised him a second time- seemingly tearing through air, the gashes the claws had made in nothingness lingered on as blue scars, scars that registered in his trained eye as gaps in the _reiatsu _of his dimension. Then the scars moved towards him, eviscerating the portion of floor where he'd been moments before as though a far larger wolf had been grinding its claws on it.

More blue scars followed him up the wall towards the ceiling. One finally connected, opening another gash on his back, and Wabisuke struck the third support beam on the way down. "Three. Goodbye."

Ignoring the sudden groaning noises, Izuru was gone. For the blue wolf it was just the opposite- the strange, alien noises caused it to pause in the pursuit and listen further in an effort to recognize it.

"Instinct serves us well in most combat situations", the 3rd squad captain observed simply once he was safely outside the building, speaking entirely to himself as the groaning was now too loud for any voice to carry.

"You can instantly react to new stimulus, can continue fighting even while hampered by things you cannot understand. Pain or resistance enough to make many intelligent Shinigami roll over and quit would merely make you angrier. You cannot become tired- draining the_ reiatsu _of my home to replenish your strength has become an instinctual action for you by now. Your power supply is virtually infinite. In order to truly stop you, I must either kill you, or put you to sleep. Seeing as how you are not doing this by choice, I'd rather not kill for once."

Then, bit by bit, the large structure collapsed in on itself, each of the three main ceiling support beams having been struck four times each with Wabisuke. Each one having had its modest weight doubled four times over, vast portions of the architecture they were connected to becoming too heavy for wood to possibly hold up. The pressure of those supports would be pushed past the weight of steel, past the weight of iron... it was more like lead now, Izuru figured. If having a structure made of lead collapse on one wasn't enough to stop this creature...

_No_, he realized, inwardly relieved. The draining sensation had stopped. Demalza Sanhas was buried somewhere in all of that rubble, unconscious but alive, and likely reverted to her human form now.

He bowed his head sadly at the pile of wreckage. "_Gomenesai_, fair maiden.I can sense my talents are needed elsewhere. But I vow that I shall come back for you once our business is done here... And I will bring a change of clothes for you."

Rank was not an issue with him. The rank of 'captain' was a title, nothing more. Worse, it carried with it expectations that he had yet to properly grow into. It was a curse of sorts that would cause the men of the 3rd squad to always look to him for answers, even ones who he had known for a long time.

All the same, he could not help but selfishly hope that Gin Ichimaru had somehow witnessed the way he'd handled that battle, and was proud.

* * *

><p>It was like waking from a nightmare. No, it <em>was<em> waking from a nightmare. On reflection, Sajin Komamura knew it met every criteria, and hoped in vain never to experience such a thing in the realm of dreams. Not only the illusions that had brought him to this point, but what it had nearly made him _do_.

He had been attacking his master and mentor. Head Captain Yamamoto had been standing there unmoving, those elder's eyes boring into him as he charged without even a movement towards his _Zanpakuto. _He had held that position with Komamura's fangs inches from his throat, and none of his accomplices would have been fast enough to stop it.

And the rushing in his head was gone. The litany of _kill, eat, rip, tear _spoke in his head no more. Revolted anew by the memory of what he'd been doing, he cast Tenken aside, and the giant immediately faded into nothing and he fell to his knees. "Yamamoto-taicho, I..."

"Say nothing", his master grunted, making the others flee with a mere glance. "This attack on your animal senses, like so many of this enemy's, was designed to use our own power against us, to decieve us into attacking each other. That is the only way creatures bred from human stock could prevail. But I knew you would not do that."

Over twice the size of the frail-looking captain, he shivered in fear. "I do not have such faith. It was the perfect illusion. Perfect. _ Everyone_ was an impostor, a traitor. I was the only one left."

Yamamoto nodded stiffly. Had he experienced such a nightmare before? With the head captain's vast centuries of experience it would not be surprising if some enemy had tried to turn the mighty Yamamoto against his friends and allies with such a nasty trick. What could be worse for the man who had forged Soul Society into its current state with his own sweat and blood? For someone whose power burned his perceived enemies to agonizing death? It could have driven him mad forevermore.

_If he can withstand the fear of it every day, _he decided firmly, _then I must. He did not raise a coward. Any cowards, for surely Tosen must have felt this way at some point._

Some day he would overcome it, learn to make friends again without fearing their ulterior motives. Trust them completely, as he once had Kaname Tosen. The shining hope of that day drew him to his feet.

"Come, Sajin. There are still enemies to confront who threaten the Soul Society. We cannot rest until they are all dealt with."

Forcing his eyes open against the sting of tears, he reached out for Tenken once more. "Show them to me, Yamamoto-taicho. I will defeat them all."

* * *

><p>One by one the Shinigami arrived, though not by design did they detect the underground cellar Nogrand Juno had chosen for his hiding place until <em>Finis Absoluto <em>reached its completion.

He was immobile now, his skin transformed into hard metal, his arms folded about his giant body making him look like some kind of ancient tribal statue. His eyes remained focused resolutely forward, so he could see the shocked look on Ichigo Kurosaki's face when he crept down the wooden stairs, following the last spiritual energy signature nearby that _didn't_ belong to one of his friends or allies. Behind him was the weedy-looking Reeve Pastell, his hair still dyed orange but beyond that freed of his strange disguise. Even if he had the energy to do so, Nogrand would not have wasted it calling the brash young man a traitor. Everyone knew he served only his own interests.

Minutes later, the house above their heads was torn free by a pair of strong arms belonging to the boy he'd traded blows with at Naruki city, then again moments before. Soil rained down around them, leaving only a square crater with Nogrand at its center. Rukia Kuchiki and Samora Shioin followed, both of them gawking at what their more refined spiritual senses were telling them. Eternally glum Kira Izuru and upbeat Rangiku Matusmoto shared the same reaction as the energy within him continued to grow.

"It's a bomb", Chad proclaimed, sounded relieved to finally say that without being interrupted by combat. "That is his _Ianzamento_, a self-destruct."

"One releasing all the energy he's absorbed and built up", Izuru gasped, actually sounding scared for once. "That could vaporize this entire district if it builds for much longer."

"Then what are we waitin' for, New Year's?", Reeve asked, more panicked than the rest of them. "Let's get the hell out of here and let him blow!"

"No", Rukia held up a hand. "There's no way of knowing how big this could get. If he gathers energy much longer, the explosion could reach other areas too. There wouldn't be enough time to evacuate everyone. Besides... this is my home."

The capacity for amusement was long dead in him, but Nogrand was nonetheless interested in the varied reactions the others gave to that last sentence. A run-down slum, badly damaged by the battles that had been fought there, and still this tiny black-haired girl wished to protect it. Curious.

"Then we stop the countdown." The Shioin prince held up his spear with obvious intent. "Kill this brute and we cut his fuse like poor-quality noodles at dinner!"

But the Kurosaki boy forced him down. "Stop, you idiot! He's covered in metal. Anything we do that's powerful enough to get through that shell could set him off!"

"Final countdown commencing", he chose that moment to announce. "_Finis Absoluto _complete in one hundred seconds."

"_Shit_", Matsumoto paled, the obvious danger piercing her normally cheery outlook. "Could we... bury him or something? Dig a trench so far down he won't hurt anyone?"

"Not in ninety-five seconds. Not without _Kido_.", Izuru said, sizing up each of the others' weapons and capabilities in a handful of breaths. As he pondered the situation, Rukia was climbing up the metallized colossus, close enough so that Nogrand's eyes lay parallel with own small face.

"I know you can hear me", she said delicately, trying not to let the pressure make her rush her words. "You've been listening to our words. Listen to this- this fight is over. Your Spirit Eater comrades have all fallen or run away. There's no point in destroying this place- you won't kill very many Shinigami with that explosion."

"Data incorrect", Nogrand answered, his voice as harsh and unforgiving as a computer brought to life, eyes looking straight ahead. "Current reports indicate at least one hundred Shinigami within range of detonation radius. _Finis Absoluto _complete in seventy-five seconds. Interference will not be tolerated."

"Unohana-taicho's squad", Izuru realized with embarrassment. "I asked her to come and heal the wounded once she was finished her business in the farm lands. She doesn't know what's about to happen... perhaps we'll all die." He seemed weirdly unperturbed by the concept.

"_Please_", the Kuchiki girl demanded, strangely solemn. "There's no point to this. You were human once. I know Zatsua put you up to this, but you can think for yourself! You don't have to kill anyone!"

"Data incorrect. Mission objective is the diversion and elimination of as many Shinigami as possible under Plan C. Then Plan D may commence."

"So... this isn't the end of it after all", Kurosaki noted apprehensively. "This was just the first strike, wasn't it? _That_'s why we didn't see Adre or Tatsuki-chan out here today! There's going to be _more_ Spirit Eater attacks after you kill us all?!"

"Observation is correct. _Finis Absoluto _complete in fifty seconds. Interference will not be tolerated."

"No!", the Kuchiki tried again, pressed close enough now that the Spirit Eater could see the tears in her eyes, which had worked so often on so many other stubborn people. "Listen to me! Whatever Zatsua did to your mind and body, we can reverse it! You don't owe her anything! Look around you! Do we really look like the villains here?!"

His lack of response made her step back, looking heartbroken. Not beaten, however- the way she raised her milk-white blade as if in prayer proved that. _Sode no Shirayuki's_ frigid cold condensed about the metal giant, encasing him in a prison that would have chilled him to the bone had he not already protected himself in a hide of reflective metal.

His time spent frozen, smothered in purest winter felt like days, though of course it could not have been more than twenty seconds before the energy surging up within him melted the ice and caused all seven of them to step back. "_Finis Absoluto _complete in twenty-five seconds. Interference will not be tolerated."

"Rukia, step back", Kurosaki called up to her. "Get back! _Now_!"

But she merely sighed in dismay. "Now who's the idiot? None of us are fast enough to escape-"

"No, Rukia, GET CLEAR."

He then grabbed and yanked her down by the hair, and it was only then that Nogrand realized what the girl's head had been unknowingly blocking from his sight- the pounding legs of another giant as it approached, one even greater than he. _Error. Failure to detect new spiritual presence. Verbal __interference from designate Rukia Kuchiki responsible?_

Now all his victims stepped aside to let the colossal samurai reach down, following the gestures Sajin Komamura made with his own paws. Carefully cradling the living bomb in one colossal hand, it rose back to its feet, straightening its right arm.

"_Finis Absoluto _complete in ten seconds. Interference will not be tolerated."

Ignoring the warning, Tenken reared back. The entire span of land beneath Nogrand spun around... then zoomed away as the giant released with all its strength as if hurling a shotput.

Unlike the Kuchiki's heartfelt plea, the rushing winds were not enough to distract him from internal calculations. _Error. Zero Shinigami detected in current projected blast radius. Rate of vertical ascent too great. Mission failure imminent._

_Decision: Suspend countdown._

This was not so simple a decision as it might have sounded to a normal human. Zatsua had instructed him to begin detonation as the culmination of Plan C, and not to stop for any reason, even that girl's determined insistence that killing Shinigami was somehow inherently wrong. It was their mission. It was what he was created to do. It could not possibly be 'wrong'.

Failing to fullfill his mission to the best of his abilities, _that _would be wrong.

So for the first time ever, the Spirit Eater made a _decision_. He disobeyed a direct order from his master, suspending the energy buildup in his body. It could not be held back for long- it had already become self-perpetuating, a nuclear reaction of concentrated _reiatsu_. But he did not need to hold it back long. Only long enough for him to stop flying upwards, and for gravity to return him to the surface below.

Then he could detonate, destroying all eight of those who had tried to stop him. Additionally he had detected the energy signature of Head Captain Yamamoto nearby, close enough to be affected. The majority of the 4th squad, the healing squad, would be wiped out in the resulting explosion as well. _Mission accomplished._

"_Finis Absoluto _complete in twenty seconds!", he told himself firmly over the roaring wind, recalculating his rate of descent towards the cloud barrier. The Shinigami would see him soon of course, but would be helpless to act to save themselves. Komamura's giant Bankai would not have a chance to throw him back into the sky a second time.

"Interference will not be tolerated!"

* * *

><p>AN: As mentioned in my profile I'm realizing my style doesn't gel well with the quirky urban fantasy style of Bleach, and nowhere was this more apparent than when I had to do two complete revisions of this chapter because it was getting too gory and too DARK. Powerful and scary villains is one thing, but I was letting my moods dictate the plot- bad idea. At least here I let Orihime have some time in the spotlight as an active and useful character as opposed to her position in several canon arcs.

Apologies for the delay. I've made sure to have half the next chapter completed already so the next update will be both faster and more light-hearted than this one, but I'd rather not attempt forced humour either. Any parts that made you laugh? Is this still too dark? Drop me a line, or preferably a review.


	25. Part 25: Fallen Angels

**Part 25: Fallen Angels**

* * *

><p>"Reeve!", Ichigo screamed after his new companion, "Get back here, you damned coward!"<p>

Unable to stop craning her head up entirely, Rukia pulled him down as a rebuke for earlier. "Don't bother, he can't possibly escape. None of us will... unless someone stops this."

Which brought his attention back to the very big matter at hand. The living bomb Spirit Eater Nogrand Juno had become had failed to go off at the proper time, even counting the remaining seconds slowly on one's fingers just as Samora had done. Ichigo scowled at the sight. "He's going to wait until he comes back down before he goes off, isn't he?"

"Looks like it", Kira Izuru said, his dour voice not quite hiding the panic. "Komamura, Matsumoto and I all just tried using the _Kido _barrier spells that would protect us. None of them are working. We're still within the 'distortion zone'."

Unable to express his displeasure through any but curses he would rather not share with close friends, Ichigo settled for punching a hole in a wall. Then immediately regretted doing so with the way his knuckles were throbbing. "Well we can't just sit here waiting for the end to come! Komamura-san, can your Bankai throw me as high as you did Nogrand?"

The wolf captain's yellow eyes, newly freed of the evil illusions that had misted them for so long, narrowed further, and the giant Bankai's massive sunken eyes actually mimicked his expression beneath the helmet's brow. "Yes... yes, I see what you're aiming for, Kurosaki Ichigo. But you will..."

"Die", he finished for him. "But if he blows up on the ground we're all dead anyway! At least in the air I have a chance of surviving it! _And_ once I'm above the distortion zone I can use my _Bankai_ again! And all my other powers too!"

Unsurprisingly, this idea had drawn worried, wide-eyed stares from everyone around him. No doubt many of them wanted to take his place as the sacrifice, feeling the need to protect a younger 'Substitute Shinigami' from what was to come.

Unsurprisingly, Rukia looked the most tortured. "I'm _not_ bragging", he insisted, trying to look all of them in the eye, not merely her. "He's still got that metal coating on him, whoever goes up there will only get maybe two shots at most to set him off. We need the most powerful person here to go up, and it can't be Komamura-san. That leaves me."

"No", Rukia protested, pushing forward. "You _can't_. This is Shinigami business, we can't expect you to give-"

But to his own surprise, it was Sado who stepped in between them, arms reverted back to normal but spread wide, imploring them not to fight. "Rukia... I've risked my life for Soul Society more times than I can count", Ichigo added from around his friend's arms, unable to even look at her tear-filled eyes any more. If he did, he would never be able to go through with this. "I've heard a lot of science-y talk about how badly the world of the living would be affected if it were ever destroyed... but that's not the reason why I'm gonna do it. It's because a lot of my closest friends... are Shinigami."

"The time is now", Komamura called to them briskly from the giant's shoulder, stretching out its hand invitingly. "Someone must go, or it will be too late."

Seeing that his friends could not even speak, he boarded the hand, clutching his _Zanpakuto _tight. "Go."

Komamura's giant obliged, reeling up at first, nearly knocking Ichigo over before clutching its hand tight and flinging him skyward with all its colossal might.

Then it was just him and the open skies. He'd fallen and flown many times before, but this time the wind currents came on so strongly that his black coat had fallen off before he realized what was happening, the matching black pants rustling violently around his legs as they threatened to follow it. With only a torn undershirt and bandages his exposed body was chilled by the violent gusts, but he could console himself with the fact that it wouldn't be for long. _One way or another..._

Ichigo messily burst through the first and second cloud layers, the air rushing over his face like a vacuum, and then he could see the big black dot that was Nogrand Juno high above him, contrasting with the sun overhead like a falling meteor. Very soon, they would be close. _Right. Need to make preparations now. Only one chance to give it everything I've got! _

"Ban... KAI! _Tensa Zangetsu_!"

With his sword's weight diminished, condensed into the slender black form he knew so well, he forced his other arm up towards his face, dragging it down and leaving behind a Hollow mask with a pattern he'd never seen before- fifteen thick bars of red crisscrossing the eyes and teeth at equal distances apart, merging in a red dot right below where the nose would be. Abruptly, his senses heightened appropriately.

It was like any other battle, really. The preparations, the full activation of his massive spiritual pressure and the array of powers that he'd gained on his adventures distracted him. It kept him from thinking too much about the fact that he was more than likely hurtling upwards towards his death. It stopped him from thinking too much about how he might never see Orihime or Rukia or any of them ever again.

_Fear. _He forced himself to scoff at his own lingering hesitation beneath his bone mask, just as his inner Hollow would. Following the path of fear would make him a craven coward like Reeve, just the opposite of who he wanted to be. _One person. Isn't that worth stopping a bomb of this kind of power? Isn't it?_

No time for second-guessing now- Nogrand was in range. With his arms and legs folded to reduce wind resistance he'd become a metal sphere, even started rolling in midair. A huge target.

_Here goes. Remember what happens if you fail. _"Alright! Getsuga... TENSHO!"

And the pitch black energy gushed forth, forcing itself vertically towards the target as if sensing his intention and striking Nogrand full on. The sphere was halted by the geyser of black, even propelled further back into the sky... but not cracked. _ Not yet._

Drawing ever closer, he focused again, tightening his grip. _The head. If he can control the time of his detonation, then he's still human enough to have a brain in his head controlling his body. Destroy that part, and he won't be able to suspend it any longer._

"KUROI... GETSUGAAA!"

To his dismay, this time the enemy dodged. Not well, but enough to avoid the full brunt of the curving wave. Instead it propelled him sideways...

Directly into his path.

Ignoring the bone-jarring force of impact, he braced in tight with his hands and held on the moment his feet touched the metal surface. The first layer of clouds was rushing back up at them now- he had little time. A dozen strikes rained down on the hide of the living bomb, marring and disfiguring it, further widening the cracks his second black wave had created.

And Nogrand Juno finally spoke to him, now that they were close enough to hear over the wind. "Designate Kurosaki Ichigo. Your interference will not be tolerated."

The young Shinigami shook his head in disgust. On one level the man's voice reminded him of Sado's deep tones, but with all the humanity extracted from them, leaving behind an automaton who had only been born human. He stabbed down once more, digging in as deep as he could with his blade. "I think it _will_ be tolerated. Getsugwhoaaa-!"

The sideways roll had caught him off guard. With the sudden gyration not unlike something from an American thrill ride he'd been thrown loose, his _Zanpakuto_ along with him, and suddenly he was above Nogrand watching him descend towards the cloud layer.

He cursed, spreading arms and legs in a position to help him fall faster. _Not fast enough, damn it, not fast enough...!_

All he could think of what that he'd failed. He'd damaged the Spirit Eater badly, but not enough to force the detonation at a safe distance. Damn. _Run_, he thought, hoping against hope that someone down there could sense his thoughts._ Run. _ _Run now. Get away. I couldn't stop him in time. Run! Get away! I couldn't... what?_

He could hardly believe what he was seeing. From this perspective, an already-rare phenomenon would look completely foreign to him, but the closer he got the more he started to realize what it was. Nogrand was slowing down. Something had formed beneath him, some kind of spinning funnel cloud that was rising, then halting the Spirit Eater, then pushing it upwards... _A tornado? _

That was too much good luck for anyone to ever expect to have, and sure enough the man behind his apparent 'luck' appeared through the clouds. The brown skin and regal garments of the Shioin prince, his arms furious with activity as they continued to spin his strange spear weapon around at a fantastic pace.

"Forgive me, Kusanagi Inigo", Samora called up him from below. "I never had the opportunity to mention my _Shikai. _It is not most useful of weapons true, but up here in the sky it strikes like thundering dodgeballs in a-"

"Just shut up and send him my way!"

Blinking in surprise, the prince remembered their situation and twisted his weapon's arc, controlling the whirlwind with each movement. "Coming your way like a wriggling salmon in a river, Ichimaki!"

And Nogrand Juno rose, the metal sphere flying back up towards Ichigo even faster than he had been falling down moments before. He was ready for it, the long black blade of his _Bankai_ sliding down in a clean, complete cut along the midsection.

"Interference... interference... will not... tolerate..."

It was only after that cut had completed and the dull emotionless voice finally faded away that Ichigo remembered that this person he'd been trying to kill was originally human.

_First human kill? _

_Is this __**it**__?_

He thought he'd feel horrible about it, immediately regretful and grieving for finally crossing that massive boundary, one that he thought he would never approach.

He thought the ever-ready voice of his Inner Hollow would be taunting him about it endlessly. Instead there was just a longing ache inside.

That, and the slow realization that his bisected target _wasn't_ detonating as advertised. Flying up beside him on currents of air, the prince looked to share his confusion. "Hm? Hey! Maybe he won't go off! Maybe we stopped him from-"

The two halves_ ignited_ into blinding white burning down his consciousness. For a brief moment in the blue sky over the entirety of Soul Society, it looks as though the horizon had given birth to a second, much larger, white sun.

Gravity was mercy.

* * *

><p>In the hours following the battle of the<em> Rukongai<em> district, the Shinigami involved reconvened at the palace, each captain involved delivering their reports in turn. For his part Sado Yasutora stayed out of it, preferring to stand with Orihime at Ichigo's bedside until life could be seen returning to his body. By the time his eyes had fluttered open once more, enough information had been compiled that the 13 captains knew the whole story of the battle.

"Shioin", Ichigo muttered once he felt strong enough to speak again. "Is he the one who... saved me?"

He was immediately sorry he'd asked from how downcast his friend looked. "No", Sado confessed. "He was hit by the_ Finis Absoluto_. Rukia said that because he didn't have a Hollow form or strong spiritual pressure, he was hurt by it much worse than you were. We just laid down some fishing nets for you two to fall into. Inoue's idea, really."

_Rukia. _So it wasn't all over, wasn't the end after all. All the same, he couldn't expect a warm welcome the next time he saw her, either out of grief for Samora's fate or annoyance with the way he'd pulled her hair to force her down earlier. It was all right. He was used to that, it was natural. And having been spared death he'd face it with a smile.

"He_ did_ save me though", he chuckled regretfully. "He's a weak dumbass, but he still saved me, and all of us. Once he's up, I'll have to thank him. What about Reeve?"

They looked puzzled, and then he remembered he'd barely had time to introduce them. "That punk Spirit Eater who was impersonating me earlier. After I beat him, he said he wanted to join my side."

"Oh. Matsumoto chased him down. They said they captured three of them", Orihime offered after a moment of contemplation. "I didn't want to say so, but one of them _does_ kind of look like you, Kurosaki-kun."

He actually laughed. How long had it been since he'd had a genuine, unforced laugh? _Since Tatsuki left us_, he thought, for once reluctant to let thoughts of the battle to come darken his mood entirely- even he could not force himself to stay that way all the time. "You should've seen him before, Inoue. It was like looking into a mirror. A funhouse mirror."

"I do love cotton candy", she acknowledged with a light shrug. This sounded forced to him, and right then he knew she was keeping something else hidden from him. Something she couldn't bring herself to talk about. "He kept asking to be let out."

"Of course", Ichigo snorted. "He's a dirty coward. But he did swear loyalty to me... So I guess that means I have to go ask the Shinigami to let him go once I can walk. Maybe. If I feel like it."

Knowing Inoue was too nice to do anything of the sort, Sado tilted his head in confusion, looking closely into his friend's narrow eyes. "Are you... certain you're alright, Ichigo? You're acting strangely. You almost sound like you're happy again."

"Oh no!", Orihime covered her mouth in mock fear. "What if he has amnesia from the fall?"

"Then smack me on the head again until I'm back to normal." The words just dribbled out of his mouth unbidden, and for a moment he frowned in confusion. _Maybe some of Reeve's stupid jokes got through after all when he punched me? _"It's fine, Inoue, Sado... I can still remember what happened with Tatsuki-chan, I remember all the chaos that's gone on since then. I still know that I'm the only one who can bring her in unharmed. I just... well. I'll tell you about it later. I promise."

This seemed to satisfy them. He'd never broken a promise to either of them, and never kept them in the dark longer than absolutely necessary. _Unlike **some** of my friends..._

He shook his head, clearing the dizziness away. _Enough is enough!_ Dwelling on past mistakes wouldn't help him get Tatsuki back to normal._ Just the opposite_. "Okay, so I'd guess one of the other prisoners was Hyn Alumirr. Tall skinny guy with the weird eyes. I left that jerk chained up near the west gate without his weapon, easy pickings for the retrieval squad. Who's the third?"

"Your girlfriend", a familiar voice came to them jokingly. Before he'd moved the screen door, everyone had looked above it and seen the topknot of ruby red hair.

"Renji!"

The lieutenant nearly tripped. "G-what? How'd you guys know who I was before I even opened the door? Ah, never mind! You remember a Spirit Eater named Demalza Sanhas?"

"Yeah", he acknowledged as the young man made himself comfortable on the unused bed beside him. At the moment, there was no Shinigami he'd rather speak to. "She was the one who asked me to abandon the Soul Society and remain as a human. Her _Ianzamento_ is 'Wild Drive', the power to control any kind of animal, right?"

"Thought so", Renji nodded, pressing his tattoos in contemplation. "That confirms what Izuru said. Kind of funny, what his reaction was when we finally got someone to lift all that wreckage he created to take her out. Said it wasn't decent, that we should cover our eyes. Heh."

"Oh." Immediately recalling memories of his encounters with Samora's famous shapeshifting aunt, he rolled his eyes. "_Oh_. Well, it's like I said to Tatsuki, I figured you Shinigami have lived long enough to lack modesty, in case Yoruichi-san and Matsumoto-san aren't proof of that."

"Actually", a sly grin came over the wild-haired man's face. "Izuru was wrong. It wasn't a nude woman at all. Instead of transforming back to her original form, we found a sleeping blue wolf pup under there. She's still out for now, but Komamura-taicho believes she won't be a threat to us any longer. Considering how many reasons he has to hate her for what she did, I'm inclined to believe him."

"Blue... wolf... pup?", Ichigo repeated back, barely believing the words. "I guess I'll vouch for that. She didn't seem as nasty as some of the others when she approached me. Can you get Reeve out, Renji?"

The 6th squad lieutenant shifted uneasily in the cot. "Byakuya-taicho is personally supervising the prisoners in the castle basement at the moment... Which is strange, because he never does that unless specifically ordered to by a superior. I think he's trying to make up for not having taken down any of the bastards himself yet."

That explained his uneasiness. Ichigo forced himself not to groan, though he imagined that Rukia's aloof older brother could be a _very_ scary interrogator of prisoners if required. "Don't worry about it Renji. I'll have a talk with him. Later."

"Much later", Orihime agreed, only half-teasing. "Do you need anything, Kurosaki-kun? A drink, a meal, some more cushions?"

Not wanting to offend anyone, he carefully tilted his head back into the pile of pillows that was already stacked up there. "Just... a moment of rest, please. I need to prepare myself for what's next."

"For Tatsuki?"

"No. Byakuya."

Nervous chuckling all around, but of all of them Inoue looked the most worried, and the last to leave. "A-alright. but remember, you promised."

* * *

><p>The dungeons beneath the Soul Society's white marble palace were hardly the torment they could have been. While starved of light compared to what lay upstairs and composed of a simple gray brick setup, it had nothing on countless cesspools of grime and disease Byakuya Kuchiki had learned of existing mere centuries ago in the world of the living. The enchanted steel bonds lining each cell segregated by soundproofed walls were designed to restrain the occupant, not torture.<p>

The Shinigami knew how to do that perfectly well themselves, though admittedly these cells had not been used since his sister's imprisonment and sentencing. Perhaps that was why the furry blue wolf pup who reports said had caused so much trouble was only sitting there peacefully in its restraints, her fluffy tail twitching even as she remained half-asleep. Perhaps there was some remnant of Rukia's kindness and discipline yet lingering in those same bonds that now pacified the animal who had once answered to Demalza Sanhas.

If that was the case, then her brother would have liked to exchange her spot for one of the other two prisoners. One, the scuffy-haired youth who had dyed his hair orange from some reason, simply would not shut up about how unfair it was that he'd been locked up after swearing his loyalty to Ichigo Kurosaki, and the third one...

The third one seemed to have been trained for this exact circumstance. He _knew_ escape was hopeless, and had decided well in advance to make his stay as paranoia-inducing for his captors as possible. Hyn Alumirr would smile fiendishly at strange times, eyeing the corners of the cells as if having spotted a weakness in their defences. _Or_ perhaps it was simply the knowledge that this was the Spirit Eater who had tricked and nearly brought an end to the elder Kuchiki's centuries of life that had set him on edge.

Snapped out of his musings by a new sound, Byakuya realized the Spriti Eater had graduated to _singing. _Not enough to reach the other two, but the strange, gnashing words somehow found his ears no matter what:

_In einem Bachlein helle,_

_Da schob in frocher eil_

_Die launische forelle_

_Voruber wie ein pfeil_

_Ich stand an dem gestade_

_Und sah in suber ruh_

_Des muntern fischleins bade_

_Im klaren bachlein-_

"Enough", he ordered sternly, stepping forward, knowing well the commanding presence he created in the eyes of most. These particular eyes opened as he approached, and he could see in them only boiling lava. "Your taunts from earlier were infantile enough, but a _song_? I had thought human soldiers to be better trained than that."

Hyn straightened out in his bonds, looking up as if seeing his captor for the first time. "Songs are the lifeblood of an army's morale,_ gespenst_ If it's been long enough that you've forgotten that, then the real mystery is how you Shinigami win any battles at all."

So he was right in determining this one to have been a trained soldier before gaining his Spirit Eater powers, his _Ianzamento_. The insult to his skills was obvious bait, and he would not rise to-

"Your little sister make it back okay, Byakuya Kuchiki? I know mine did."

"Perfectly healthy", he snarled back. "She is strong and intelligent. She will endure whatever ploy your pathetic comrades throw at us next."

"...Are you sure about that?"

No answer. He would not dignify this wretch with further response. Instead, he continued on his own, knowing his jailed could not shut out the sound without leaving his post:

_Ein fischer mit der rute_

_Wohl an dem ufer stand,_

_Und sah's mit kaltern blute_

_Wie sich has fischlein wand_

"Kurosaki? Hey! Boss! You gotta get me out of here!"

The captain's dour eyes slowly shifted, though it came as no real surprise- he'd felt the spiritual energy signature approaching long ago. This particular one was quite unique.

Though he welcomed any distraction from the elder Alumirr's annoying song, he kept his voice as cold and disdainful as always. "Kurosaki Ichigo. You should be resting upstairs. You barely have the strength to stand."

"I'm _fine_, Byakuya", the orange-haired brat grunted, immediately forcing himself to stand completely upright instead of slouching, and even that took more effort than he wanted. "I just needed to tie up a few loose ends before getting some real sleep."

"The palace guard should not have allowed you down here. It is a security violation. Surely you've heard that our current foes are masters of illusion?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I'm real, okay? When we first met, you ripped my sword in two, you sealed my spiritual power, and you said that I looked like Kaien Shiba, though I didn't know who you were talking about at the time."

"That power has grown much since back then", the captain remarked neutrally. "A shame that the rest of you remains as it was then. Juvenile, and reckless."

"Heh. Nice to see you too. And just like back then, I'm here to help someone you've wrongfully imprisoned." He pointed defiantly, and was satisfied to see Byakuya's stoic eyes widen by inches. "That guy swore an oath to me. He'll behave. Won't you, _Reeve_?"

"Absolutely boss", the Spirit Eater sounded past relief, grinning ear-to-ear at Ichigo from across the cell. "You won't hear a peep out of me. So please let me go? Pretty please?"

"_Unacceptable_". The Kuchiki elder did not even need to stomp a foot down to make the gravity of his decree known. "These three are prisoners of war, and we cannot afford any distractions now."

"You wouldn't even have two of those if it weren't for me", Ichigo pointed out reluctantly. It felt like forever since they'd butted heads like this over anything. As usual the Shinigami captain's aristocratic demeanour- a real one, not good-humoured foppery like Samora Shihoin- felt like an active force pressing down against him with even more power than his _reiatsu _aura.

But backing down and leaving like a scolded puppy wasn't exactly in his nature either. Bucking his fear and all due courtesy, Ichigo gathered his will and took another step forward. "The sniper guy you can keep, but Reeve comes with me. He's my prisoner."

"Always a pleasure, _chibi_", Hyn called to him nonchalantly. "_So lang dern wasser helle... so dacht ich nicht gebricht..._"

"Be silent", the captain barked, and for once Hyn obeyed, merely watching in interest. Turning back to Ichigo, he was no less firm. "He is the Soul Society's prisoner, not yours. Like the rest of them he is a lawbreaker guilty of an unprovoked attack on our people. Until the time comes that Central 46 can render proper judgement on these wretches, they will remain _here_, in the only place where their powers can be properly constrained."

_Time warp_, he thought to himself, again with more levity than the situation warranted, possibly cause by the very person he was trying to save. _I've stepped into a time warp and it's all happening again. Am I going to fight Byakuya-taicho **again**, and die, and lose control of my inner Hollow?_

The trace of a smile that had worked its way onto his face seemed to only make the elder Kuchiki colder and more distant by contrast. Seeing this, he forced his face back into neutrality, and his head out of reminiscing. This _wasn't_ Rukia he was trying to save from execution this time around. This was someone who had until a few hours ago been an enemy, and an enemy without an ounce of honour or kindness in him. A Spirit Eater, created to neutralize and devour Shinigami. Any Shinigami. _Is it really worth all this trouble, just to get him out?_

"Boss? Ichigo...?"

Of course, it wasn't really about _that_ at all. He'd been kidding himself. This was a personal vendetta, and one he hadn't even noticed until now.

He was done being subtle and keeping secrets from people. It wasn't his style. A head-on confrontation was the best thing for everyone, if the discipline of Captains was everything it had been said to be. Sighing, he pulled up a chair back towards the exit, hopefully far enough away that Hyn's singing wouldn't distract them.

"You arranged the marriage between Rukia and Samora", he said, keeping his voice carefully neutral. "You did that without telling me, specially instructing Rukia not to tell me anything about it. Knowing how much I like her."

Byakuya's response was predictable. His eyes darkened further, becoming pinpricks of ice boring into the younger man's soul. "Ever the arrogant brat. You presume that this is all about you. I will not strike a man in your condition, but neither will I allow further insults upon my family's honour. Leave us now, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"I won't", he stared back, forcing the words out and purposely ignoring how the danger-sense born from years of combat was making his back hairs stand on end. They were miles away from being friends, but he would wager a lot more than he already had that Byakuya Kuchiki would never attack him in his current state, no matter what he said. "Not until you tell me why."

Neither moved for several seconds, neither backing down or looking away. Then the prisoner across from them coughed. "Yeah, as fun as it might be to watch you two go 'yes you will, no I won't' all day, I think I might be able to help ya with that, boss."

Breaking the staredown, Ichigo looked at Reeve tiredly. "When did you get a chance to drain Byakuya? I'm surprised you're still alive."

"I didn't", the young man shook his head. All remaining traces of the hair dye were gone, leaving his tangled hair its original snow white colour, nearly the same shade as a Hollow's mask. Besides that he'd lost his jacket, leaving only a simple green T-shirt. "But I drained _you_, boss. Lots of times. I have pretty much all of your memories of him. So I can tell you why captain stick-up-his-ass is doing this to you, if he won't."

"You are a worthless human vagrant chosen at random for the Spirit Eater program", Byakuya said harshly. "You know _nothing_ of us."

"Call it an educated guess", Reeve shrugged as much as he could in the drain-proof restraints. "Still more than you'd get out of _him_. He's like Frigeld, ya know? No sense of humour, too prideful to explain himself to young punks like us."

"If you're trying to make up for running away before", Ichigo told him, "it's not gonna work." He always hated when people he didn't like made obvious attempts at ingratiating themselves to him. They usually ended up being creepy instead. "But go ahead."

"It's his position", Reeve said, no longer caring about the death glare the captain was sending his way. "He's a big-shot, right? The head of the Kuchiki family. Which has lost a ton of prestige since A) He broke the rules to let Hisana into his family and B) Since he lost a battle to a rookie Substitute Shinigami. You."

"He didn't lose", Ichigo pointed out humbly, shuddering slightly at the memory of how that battle had gone. "Not to me. My Inner Hollow took over my body."

"And kicked his ass", Reeve grinned savagely. "Never mind how it happened, in the end he was forced to stand down and let you save his sister. So the Kuchiki clan lost a lot of respect from the other three noble families besides. And one way of rebuilding that respect is to tie themselves to a noble family who _hasn't_ lost it. The Shihoin clan."

Ichigo's eyes went wide as he puzzled over what he'd just been told. Nothing of it contradicted what little he knew of the code of respect that the four noble families of Soul Society operated by. Byakuya himself had confessed his shame in breaking the rules for the first time, one of the few people he had ever confessed it to. All the same, what he was hearing now...

"That's disgusting", he decided after much deliberation. "Forcing marriage between people who don't love each other just for some stupid 'respect'?"

The captain's head rose, cold anger washing across both of them. "Enough of your baseless insults, prisoner. You will go _now_, Kurosaki Ichigo."

But it was too late. Everything he'd kept bottled up since first hearing about this- possibly since he'd found Byakuya Kuchiki persecuting _his own sister _for a crime that made no sense to him - was rising to the surface, making his skin feel as though it were ablaze with anger, a fever desperate to be released on _something_. "I'm going _nowhere_ until you tell me what the fuck this is all abou-"

The blow was quick, painless, and professional. He had barely felt the impact of the elder Kuchiki's fist striking his chest and compressing his lungs before he pitched forward into him, out like a light.

"Out of respect for your past accomplishments I will not harm you for your slander, Kurosaki Ichigo", the captain spoke briskly, already feeling strange about having to gently cradle the orange-haired youth in his arms. "But neither will you continue to harm Soul Society with your rash behaviour."

"You do realize he can't hear you, right?", Reeve asked impishly, trying to hide his despair. "No one else awake here but me and ol' red-eyes."

"Unlike Kurosaki Ichigo, you have done nothing to earn respect from anyone, prisoner", his jailor intoned, not even deigning to look in his direction. "When I return, your behaviour will determine which restraints are applied. Consider that we possess restraints for every part of the body, all resistant to your draining abilities."

Reeve looked about to speak up again but thought better of it. As the two departed however, Hyn could not help but get in some final words, with more clarity than he'd shown since being brought here:

"Byakuya Kuchiki. I'll see your dear sister dead before you yet, I promise..._"_

The captain merely grunted, not looking back. Something about this day had everyone testing his patience just to see how far they could push him. A good thing it was that he had developed such powerful emotional discipline.

For their sakes.

* * *

><p>While the meeting hall for the squad captains looked undeniably sparse to head captain Yamamoto, especially compared to their last conference, they had long ago come to accept that would be the case the majority of the time. A proper captain should spend the majority of their time with their squad or on duty, Yamamoto reasoned. And an army that became used to having their strongest fighters nestled at headquarters was a failed army.<p>

Only Unohana, Ukitake, Komamura and Toshiro had answered the call. The latter still bore his injuries, but seemed determined to grit his way through them no matter what. More than that, no doubt it was the catastrophic damage inflicted on squad 10 that was making his breath short and his eyes shadowed.

"Having been forced by extraordinary circumstances to participate in the battle of the _Rukongai_ myself", the ancient captain began, once again feeling the weight of being the pillar of Soul Society- but accepting it as always. "I would consider it a success. Though our casualties were high, their attempt to destroy squad 4 along with the district were not achieved."

"I am appreciative of your efforts on our behalf, taicho", Unohana said with a grandmotherly smile, masking the very real relief underneath that only Yamamoto would see in her. As with most of the captains, her attachment to her people ran deep. "You saved many from our mistake."

"It was not your mistake, Unohana", he rumbled angrily. "Our mistake was in underestimating this enemy's ability to manipulate our abilities and weaknesses so accurately, because they are merely enhanced humans."

"Both of the prisoners we rescued from their headquarters were traps", Hitsugaya noted in misery. "The Arisawa girl, who opened the way for them once we had brought her here, and now an infiltrator posing as the late Rutori Igenari. Half my squad is gone because of that infiltration, and several more fighting in the field. They..."

"Calm", he commanded the youngest captain firmly. "You must learn to control your anger, Hitsugaya, lest it lead you into another trap set by the enemy. It was this anger which cost your your official title, though with prince Shihoin also incapacitated we must now ask you to select a new acting-captain from your remaining members."

Leaving him to consider that decision, his gaze travelled lengthwise over to Komamura's massive frame. "There are no lingering effects of the brainwashing, my friend?"

"None", the beast-captain bit out, no less resentful than Toshiro. Only his master's stern words could have saved him from the spell he'd been under, but the mere fact that Yamamoto had been forced to step in spoke volumes of the enemy's prowess. "The one responsible is locked up and no longer even capable of human thought. It seems she has reverted to her original state- even when she wakes only I will be able to speak to her."

"Demalza Sanhas", Yamamoto mused unhappily. Like Unohana, Komamura hid it well, but none of them could hide from the head captain how much their recent encounters had spooked them. The woman might be an animal of the same species as Komamura once upon a time, but after what had happened he doubted they would be interacting much.

For his part, the head captain could still remember when a brown wolf pup had passed into their dimension, and into his care, even if no one else could. "However, we must now assume that similar Spirit Eaters have been prepared to exploit the weaknesses of each of our number, as evidenced by the 'distortion zones' captain Izuru reported on, which prevented our use of _Kido_ spells for the duration of the battle."

"I spoke to him further about that", long-haired Ukitake confessed shyly. "Apparently the one who caused that phenomena is named Yui Alumirr. She is the younger sister of Hyn Alumirr, one of those whom we have now captured. We should alert all of our forces about seeing a young girl of her description. Apparently...", he frowned, thinking back to what Izuru had said. "Apparently she can be easily identified by her red eyes and the headphones which she wears, connected to some kind of hand-held device she carries with her."

"A key to unlocking her _Ianzamento_'s power, perhaps", Komamura mused. "My ears could sense the way she had warped all the ambient sound in the Rukongai once I was freed from the enemy's control. Izuru-taicho is correct. The words to any spell would be badly distorted past ten meters, though our _Shikai_ and _Bankai_ should continue to work normally." That only required communication with the spirit of their _Zanpakuto_, which was usually right there next to them, as close as one's own arm both emotionally and literally.

"Fortunately, Shunsui-taicho's squad is not overly reliant on _Kido_", Unohana noted. Less than 6 hours ago, they'd received word of another Spirit Eater attack on one of their more prosperous business districts, and squad 8 had gone to assist, being the closest one that had not yet taken casualties. "All the same, I will send a messenger alerting him of the danger, as well as the abilities of the other Spirit Eaters we have encountered thus far."

"Agreed", Yamamoto nodded, his beard dipping down. "Secondly, after reviewing the enemy's purpose in these two strikes, I must conclude that they were never meant to accomplish anything other than depleting our numbers and distracting us. I have ordered the 2nd squad to search our world for wherever the enemy's main force has hidden themselves away- the criminal Jutani Zatsua in particular. All signs indicate that she is the primary orchestrator of these attacks."

Another small benefit to having smaller meetings was that messengers would be less wary of bringing urgent news to so many awesomely powerful Shinigami in one spot- a screen door creaked open, revealing a frightened-looking cadet. "Ummm. Honoured captains?"

"Speak."

"I have news. There is still no sigh of Kurotsuchi-taicho, though your summons was delivered as ordered."

A spark of rage kindled in Yamamoto's grave eyes, one he saw echoed in many of his comrades. While it had been agreed upon centuries ago that having the mad doctor Mayuri Kurotsuchi working for them, however distasteful, was much better than having him as an independent operator, his raving obsessions with his scientific studies over all other concerns never failed to grate his nerves. He was even _more_ unreliable than Kenpachi Zaraki, who at least had a good excuse for not being here today with his lieutenant and best friend being bedridden. "One of us will have to visit him personally then, as we are the only ones he may listen to."

"Th-that's just it, sir. I already sent someone down to his lab to try and talk to him personally. He's either buried away in some secret chamber of his lab that we don't even know about... or he's not there at all."

Yamamoto rose from his seat, focusing hard on the messenger as if trying to ascertain the truth. "You have done well. Send word to squad 9 that they are ordered to perform a full sweep of the Research and Development district for enemy spies, including the lab itself."

"Done, sir."

When he had gone, he sat back down, performing the same calming exercises he had asked Samora to try and teach Hitsugaya. "Then the enemy's truly capable members must have been with that group, for even my most urgent summons cannot always convince Kurotsuchi to leave his laboratory."

No one called him on the disrespectful lack of title- they were all well familiar with the annoyances of having such an erratic being as an ally. "Then he was kidnapped", Ukitake suggested. "As impossible as that sounds with the amount of security he has."

"Or coerced", Komamura suggested disdainfully. "A new employer who provided him with new areas of mad science to voyage heedlessly into. He has no loyalty to us whatsoever. He may not even have considered what will happen if the Spirit Eaters remain in our dimension for a long period of time."

"Death", Unohana pointed out, for once sounding afraid for the future. "Already I have witnessed plants dying, fields becoming wasted and dry, vibrant lands turning to sickly gray ash. They are devouring the life energies of our very world to fuel their assault on us. They will never run out, until our world is dead."

"Then we make them stop", Hitsugaya pounded the table. "The moment Soifon-taicho finds where Jutani Zatsua is hidden, then we move to capture the rest. Take them down, no matter what. This can't go on."

"Capture", Yamamoto emphasized again. "Not kill. Not yet. As dire a threat as they have proven to be now, they yet remain human. We will not use lethal force if possible, and we shall take care to do our duty to the souls of the fallen before they begin to Hollowfy. The self-destruction of that gigantic Spirit Eater was one thing, but I will _not_ allow the oaths of ten centuries to be broken over something as trivial as this."

Seeing- expecting- the reservations on their faces, he nodded again, eyes tight. "Yes, I said _trivial_. Because this is _far_ from the worst threat that the Soul Society has come under in my long millenia of dedicated service. We yet remain strong. We are the Gotei 13. We are legendary, and we will not fail against something as simple as artificially-enhanced _humans_. Do your parts, follow orders and be mindful of our enemy's cunning, and victory will eventually be ours. This, I vow upon my life."

* * *

><p>AN: Not much to say here except that there's more to Byakuya's grudge than meets the eye in this chapter, which I promise to reveal next time.


	26. Part 26: Never Meant to Belong

Disc: Bleach is the intellectual property of Tite Kubo. Rated for nudity and swearing.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 26: Never Meant to Belong<strong>

* * *

><p>Ichigo wasn't offended to wake up for a second time in the exact same infirmary bed, with none of his friends watching over him. They had other things in their lives beside his tendency to get himself hurt in fights, and he doubted that the Shinigami had much time to be gracious hosts at the moment even if they wanted to.<p>

In fact most of the vast white citadel seemed to be on full-alert, with multiple guards forming checkpoints at each gate, supervised by several familiar faces including Renji and Izuru. Even from his bed he could feel the intensity in the air.

Despite this, from the window he could still make out the figures of various Shinigami civillians, spiritual beings who had been good and honourable enough in life to retain their bodies as 'plus' souls, but lacked the killer instinct to ever join the Gotei 13. He felt strangely satisfied to see them, reminded that the majority of the Shinigami he'd interacted with were born warriors, mostly unconcerned with niceties.

"_Baka_", he growled at himself as the pain of his newest bruise flared up the moment he tried to stand, placing one hand to relieve the feeling of dull pressure. "Yeah, insult Byakuya's honour when you're injured and he's working and pissed off, _very _smart Ichigo." He'd lost his temper then, even if it was justified. And lying in bed here now, looking out over the vast city that was the fortified heart of the _Seiritei_, he could begin to think on other things too.

Samora, Rukia and her brother were hardly the only Shinigami nobles he'd dealt with in his time here. Some were straightforwardly blunt about it, others were annoyingly spoiled by their privileges, but he could still call them his friends. He just hadn't thought about all these ancient Shinigami families in those terms before. "Four 'Great Houses'", he remembered out loud. "Kuchiki, Shihoin, two others I haven't met... and beneath those the Kasumoji and Omaeda."

His world had no such thing. Not any more, really. _But Rukia... she's like a princess. Is her brother trying to block me out of her life just because I'm not a noble? Or is it because I'm a human? _A rather poor human, he had to admit with a chuckle. The equivalent of a peasant.

There had to be more to this. The 6th squad captain had many qualities that disagreed with Ichigo, but being a control freak wasn't one of them. _He's too smart not to realize that Rukia's going to see who she wants, no matter what. Maybe when she was younger he could do that, but not now._

Then it would be up to him to find out. He certainly wasn't going to go marching down into the jail cells again until he had his answer- that would likely just get him sent back to the infirmary, unconscious again. Being knocked out twice in a row was plenty.

There were more urgent appointments, of course. If he'd known where Tatsuki was, no amount of energy loss or threats from his hosts would have stopped him from charging off to find her, and bring her home before some Shinigami could get lucky and kill her_. Tatsuki-chan... I'm sorry_, he thought out at the afternoon sun. _I __**will**__ find you, and I'll save you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how long I have to stay here in this world. I promise._

There were no signs of Spirit Eater attacks that he could see, but he made certain to bring Zangetsu along just in case. His attendants had at least provided him with a long-sleeved off-white tunic that he'd seen on some Shinigami cadets to replace his lost coat, and after another hour he felt strong enough to walk where he pleased, even waving to Renji once he'd been let through the checkpoint that had been set up at the castle gate. _Some kind of _Kido_ spell checking out everyone's unique spiritual pressure, to make sure they are who they say they are, _he observed grimly. But their enemies could perfectly mimic the energy signature of anyone who they had drained- Reeve could still duplicate his.

He tried his hardest not to let everything else related to that interfere with this momentary peace, merely walking the streets trying to get a feel for a place he'd defended many times but never explored, not like Karakura town. To his surprise, many of the younger citizens gave him pleasant greetings, even calling his name by rote as if he were a respected noble as well. One, a young blond girl with freckles, even asked to be shown Zangetsu's polished black edge, the sight of which brought her enough giddy happiness that he felt embarrassed.

The various stores in the marketplace were clearly suffering reduced sales under a state of war, but hardly a crippling reduction- Ichigo merely thronged his way through the other patrons just as he'd done on the more crowded streets of Naruki. Sure enough, there was an entire shelf of tiny white rabbit figurines lined up along the east wall of the gift shop.

"Amazing. Renji told me about it and I _still_ don't believe it. Chappy the Rabbit?"

"_Very_ popular among the ladies", a squat clerk wearing shades informed him brightly. "Would you like to buy one, Kurosaki-sama?"

The use of title threw him for a loop, but he shook his head. "No thanks. I was just curious about the thing a... friend of mine uses as inspiration for her crappy drawings. I can't believe these actually sell among Soul Reapers."

"Oh yes", the clerk nodded, clearly almost as smitten by him as the girl had been. It was unnerving. "The path of the warrior doesn't desensitize one to appreciating things that are adorable or beautiful."

"Yeah. Too bad this is neither of those."

Rukia would've hammered him for that. The clerk decided not to comment. "Perhaps you'd be interested in something... closer to home, perhaps?"

Following his finger, Ichigo's gaze widened. There was another shelf along the north wall, beneath a selection of gray feudal sculptures, that was divided into a number of shelves stacked closely together to accommodate several different varieties of figurines. Figurines that looked surprisingly familiar...

It was Byakuya he spotted first, the Kuchiki elder's stern features fresh in his mind. Each figure was only about half a foot tall, but managed to capture much of his most common outfit, the voluminous black haori and white scarf with a slate clip covering long and regal black hair. The expressions carved into the wood were limited, but still conveyed a familiar piercing glare.

The rest were here too, he realized in further shock. All of the heroes of the _Seritei _who had made their names over the centuries by defeating threats to their people. Only the captains actually, but they were joined by a handful of others, both men and women, that he didn't recognize. Former captains, he assumed, slain in the line of duty.

"M... maybe if it had a real-live Bankai", he joked halfheartedly. "Still, that's some impressive craftwork all right."

The clerk beamed. "They are all hand-carved and painted by our owner, lady Tsirimaji, in both the size you see here and keychain size. Like many here, she has great admiration for our heroes. Truly we are blessed to have such respected nobles defending us."

It was then he noticed that Kenpachi, Toshiro and Mayuri were all missing from this tableau, swallowed. "I never realized... that they were respected that much."

"Oh indeed, Kurosaki-sama. But they do not sell as highly as Chappy over here, of course."

Looking half dazed, he nodded back. "Yeah. Sorry to waste your time, but I'm not really into dolls, Mr...?"

"Gendumu", the clerk provided, inclining his round specs in the shop's light. "And do not be afraid of a loss of respect, my friend- people of all ages have enjoyed our shop's products for centuries! They make excellent gifts for friends! If none of those are your forte, then perhaps..."

Ichigo blinked. Gendumu was suddenly looking shifty, glancing around the store to make sure all the other clerks were fully occupied with customers. Satisfied, he ducked behind the counter, bringing up a small wooden box. "Perhaps these?"

Opening the latch himself, Ichigo gasped.

* * *

><p>The doors to Mayuri's hidden lab shuddered open, and the harsh light of the desert silhouetted two new arrivals, one hunched over on a cane and the other with an angry jolt in her step. While the strange violet lighting and sinister machinery of the place had to be startling, neither made any noise of shock until they saw the gray-haired Shinigami woman hanging on the far wall like a limp piece of meat, eyes closed and expression pained.<p>

"_Shit_", Yui Alumirr exclaimed at the sight. "Don't tell me they know about this place already?"

"Not yet", a new voice greeted them from the shadows, Lanis emerging with his sword sheathed. "I have seen a Shinigami strike force attacking this place. But not until tomorrow. This one is merely our prisoner, and I have not seen her escape happening today."

"How reassuring", Yui replied sarcastically. Even with his sanity restored to him by the energies of this world, the gray-eyed Spirit Eater before them remained an amazingly creepy person to her. "At least _something_'s gone right."

"Plan C was a failure", Barton Eishinchi offered mildly. His shadow blended well with the darkness here, but remained ready to strike like some impossibly brutal guard dog protecting its master. "Even though we combined our talents, Kreig, Reeve, Hyn, Demalza, and Nogrand all either fell or were captured in the battle. It was all that we could do to escape ourselves."

"I have seen that", Lanis said calmly, not really looking at any of them. "I told _meu mestre_ of the outcome before your departure."

This hit Yui so hard that she switched off her walkman and ripped out the headphones. "Say again? Maybe I didn't hear you right. 'Cause it sounds to me like you just said Zatsua set us up!"

"It's not like that", another voice protested. Verdade, powerless compared to the rest of them but now entrusted with something equally as important. "This was the real plan. We just needed a distraction for the Shinigami so we could get started."

"Oh." Yui remained livid, managing to intimidate several of the others despite being the youngest one there. "Oh I see. So we were just the decoy? My brother got himself captured for a decoy?!"

"It was no one's fault", Verdade said, trying not to cower. "Besides, Zatsua said that the Shinigami were too sanctimonious to kill their prisoners. You'll see your brother again as soon as we're done here."

From the look on her face it was clear the girl didn't understand all of that. She looked about to lunge forward when another door slammed loudly shut from above. "I believed I had already spoken to your acting commander about our agreement", a high voice came down, poorly masking his fury. "I believed we agreed that there would be SILENCE in MY lab until I was done MY work! So BE QUIET, YOU IDIOTS!"

A second after, Yui scoffed. Mayuri's chalky white complexion and high-pitched screaming was good for a few scares- and Verdade indeed looked very scared of him- but it would take much more than that to stop her own anger. "Go die in a hole, old man."

Captain Kurotsuchi's eyes twiched grotesquely. "Old... MAN?! You brat! I'll have you know I'm a spry 293 years! You-"

"Please excuse her, doctor Kurotsuchi", Verdade offered most humbly- as usual Lanis was merely staring off into space, already knowing how this would end without his interference. "She is young and aggressive, and she has just returned from the battlefield."

Mayuri made a rude noise. "I don't care if she's just returned from Hueco Mundo! You WILL be quiet, or good luck trying to finish this experiment without MY genius!"

Satisfied that this tirade was enough, the captain stalked out in a huff. "He's very touchy", Verdade offered at last. "_Please_ don't aggravate him any more. Zatsua needs him to finish his project first."

"More mad science", Barton noted in sad resignation. "I suppose we have no choice in the matter. Where is Princess Adre?"

"Out. Another diversionary strike with Arisawa and Kiatenin. They're supposed to pull back if things get hairy."

"Which, like, worked out_ so_ well for us", Yui growled, making false doe eyes at Verdade's alarm. "Oh, don't worry pal. I heard the old fart's orders." Pressing one finger to her lips, she smiled mischievously. "I won't make a sound."

With Verdade unfamiliar with his colleagues' powers, it was Barton whose aged eyes widened in alarm. "No, _don't_-"

But the younger of the lava-eyed Alumirr sibings had already returned the headphones to her ears, and started playing a new song just for drama's sake. With the hand that had been pressed to her lips, she clasped her other palm tightly, touching the triangle tattoo. "_Ianzamento- _**Endecha**_!"_

And there was a brief crackle, then nothing. Verdade stared in horror, watching Barton's lips continue to move, speaking with no result. He tried his own words of caution with the same result, realizing in the same instant that he could no longer hear the randomized humming and clanking of Mayuri's machines. The few animals of the desert were completely silent.

Deaf. Gone. The sound was _gone_. Or rather, something had completely blocked it out. Even Barton's attempt at touching his tattoo and activating his own _Ianzamento _yielded nothing, requiring spoken words to call upon.

Yui's words would be blocked out as well, but she didn't need any to make her intent clear, leaping up onto the walkway they'd seen Mayuri leave through and blasting the metal doors down with a single soundless kick. The only one of them who could have pursued her elected not to, but Verdade raced up the stairs all the same, his footfalls not even leaving a whisper. Maybe he actually could stop her from ruining everything. _And then ride a sparkly unicorn out of here on a rainbow..._

Up ahead, he could just make out the confrontation. Kurotsuchi naturally looked outraged by the intrusion, and his voice would normally be tearing through their eardrums in fierce anger... but even now he was realizing that his wide lips and filmy yellow teeth were moving, but no sound was coming out. When his attempt to activate his _Zanpakuto_ failed, the mad doctor seemed to respond more with interest than fear, though Verdade imagined that the moment this 'Endecha' ability wore off he would give them all a piece of his mind. Assuming he even let Yui _live_.

Then Kurotsuchi lunged with his blade completely unpowered by _Shikai _or_ Bankai_, and he realized he might have gotten it backwards- the buffeting generated by Yui's vocal cords was invisible and noiseless, but still managed to blast Kurotsuchi into a wall hard enough to crack it in a silent explosion of dust.

_Gods help us all_, he thought to himself, running along the walkway after her.

* * *

><p>Conveniently, Ichigo found Sado and Inoue just outside his next destination, already talking with the nurse there. After assuring them he was fine and accepting a long hug from Inoue and a handshake from Sado, he faced the young-looking Shinigami acting as Prince Shihoin's ward, and nodded. "Is he accepting visitors?"<p>

The girl seemed amused. "_He _would even if his body was in multiple pieces. The fool has no idea just how close he came to dying. I can let you in, but only for a short time. He needs his rest."

"I won't be long. I just want to talk for a while."

The healer smiled back warmly, again showing Ichigo a degree of respect he still wasn't sure if he was comfortable with, and stepped aside to let them pass. Within the small room, Ichigo could see the damage up close for the first time.

Half the man's gold rings were gone, leaving behind profuse welts all along the scalp only held back by bandages, and a great deal of his brown hair burned away as well. Without his noble _haori, _the prince seemed completely ordinary, his strange javelin _Zanpakuto_ leaned against the wall next to him. "Damn", was all Ichigo could think to say.

"My sentiments exactly", Samora tried to speak up, his usual annoying cheer slurred by pain. "Though I lament my lack of proper words to express my irritation, like an ancient book that I am forbidden to read."

Seeing Orihime smile at the ridiculous simile, he sat next to the bed. "Samora...san. Sorry about nearly getting you killed before."

The prince shook his head in mock confusion. "Sorry? I've never experienced such excitement in all of my time at the palace. This pain is but a small ticket for such a ride."

_And it helps fulfil Byakuya's marriage conditions I'll bet, _he thought, already remembering in a rush how he'd come to be here. "Glad you feel that way. And uh, thanks for helping me stop that Nogrand Juno guy."

A polite chuckle. "Think nothing of it, Ichino. That horrible man was going to destroy miss Rukia's home! I simply could not allow such a travesty to pass, not when my_ Shikai _is so well-suited for aerial combat like a shark and the ocean. But of course, I give full credit for the kill to you."

"Right. The kill._" _Again, actually he didn't feel too badly about that. Mainly because the Spirit Eater had self-destructed after all, so it didn't really count as him killing a human. _But what about next time? What if there's another Spirit Eater who doesn't give up so easily? Can I kill them? Kill a human?_

Hearing the nurse talking to someone outside reminded him of his limit, and his mind returned to the matter he truly wanted to discuss, the one that had been eating him up the whole time he'd been making his way back to the castle, through the checkpoint and back to the infirmary.

Reaching into his pouch, he brought out a tiny figurine and quickly laid it on the desk next to the bed as though it burned to the touch. The same height as all the others in the store he'd gone to, this one held features even more familiar to him than the rest of Soul Society's mighty 13 captains. They were his own. Wide black coat. A mop of carrot orange hair and slender face in as fierce an expression as could be affected by the tiny dots for eyes and line mouth. There was even a wooden approximation of Zangetsu held in the doll's hands, held at the very angle he'd seen a thousand times in his own hands.

Samora stared into the doll's eyes, not exactly sure what it meant. "You shouldn't have."

"They were in the shop", Ichigo said, explaining to Inoue and Sado as well. "The guy was keeping them hidden in a locked box under the counter, 'cause apparently they're banned by Central 46."

"It's cute", Inoue remarked, reaching out to play with it. "Can I keep it, Kurosaki-kun? Please?"

He shrugged. "Go ahead. I just needed it so I can ask the prince here what this is all about. Byakuya won't tell me. I don't think any of them would be completely honest with me about this, except for you or Rukia."

"And she's on duty", Samora nodded, comprehending oddly fast for him. "She visited me before leaving. She looked very sad, like a dove who abandons her eggs."

"So that leaves you. I can guess what it means, but I wanted someone to tell me the truth."

Samora closed his eyes, though not out of pain. "Yes, only high-ranking nobles would know. I hope you realize that I could get into a great deal of trouble for telling you this, Ichinisan."

"I'll keep it quiet", he promised without hesitating. "But if you don't want to-"

"No." The prince was suddenly adamant. "You deserve to know. My status should protect me adequately from any backlash, like a mighty shield of gold and jewels and unlike the Kuchikis, my family has tactfully avoided any major disgrace for the past century... including auntie Yoruichi."

"Right", Ichigo remembered, wondering for a moment where his old teacher had gotten off to. "She was exiled by them for helping Mr. Hat and Clogs."

"All on behalf of a crime that turned out to be false", Samora concluded bitterly. "She was always very good to me when I was a young scamp, and I often wondered why she never came to visit anymore. My parents would not tell me. But I will not repeat their mistake. Lies help no one, they are like deadly serpents slithering through the undergrowth to bite you in the ankle."

"Um...Thank you, Samora-san."

"Think nothing of it. Now." Taking a moment to force himself up in bed, the prince took the tiny figurine from Orihime, cradling it in the same fashion she had been. "Ever since my lady Rukia stabbed you and gave you the Shinigami powers needed to take over for her, you have become involved in the majority of the recent conflicts plaguing Soul Society. Not only that, but you have been instrumental in resolving a goodly number of them, despite being a Substitute Shinigami."

Ichigo shrugged. The fact that he'd been dragged into so many battles was nothing new to him, and something many others had pointed out. He had never thought to brag about such a thing, and knew that wouldn't have gone over well with the captains anyway.

Samora began ticking off items on his fingers. "First, the incursion of a _Menos Grande_ into Karakura Town. Then the saving of lady Rukia from a death sentence she had not truly earned, and which the Gotei 13 to their shame were being manipulated into carrying out. Then the attacks of the Bount, the situation with the infiltrator Shusuke Amagai and the other _Bakkoto_ users, Muramasa's _Zanpakuto_ rebellion, the Diamond Dust rebellion... and eventually the traitor Sosuke Aizen's own bid for power as well. Nearly every time you have been at the forefront of the battle, defeating enemies that many of our own captains would have difficulty properly subduing, though as you well know many of them would never admit that."

"Kenpachi could have", he offered, trying his hardest to remain modest. "I just got to them first, that's all."

"Perhaps", Samora considered, suddenly breaking into a coughing fit and waiting for it to subside before continuing. "In any event, your status as a hero has risen among the commoners of the Soul Society with every victory. Where once the Gotei 13 were considered our saviours and protectors, now many of the younger ones look to you as a better role model like a bird soaring above its flock. Hence the figurines."

"So they just banned them?" The strength in Inoue's voice surprised them all; she sounded terribly offended by the idea that something so adorable could be confiscated, waving the doll around in anger. "Just because they're jealous of Kurosaki-kun? That doesn't sound like them at all!"

At once, the prince looked ashamed. "That was the decree of Central 46, my dear. It was discussed at length with the four noble families, and it was agreed that in the long-term, it would undermine the nobles' power as well as the respect the 13 captains hold among the people. They couldn't allow you to become an icon in the world of the dead."

Ichigo looked weary, shaking his head. As he'd half-expected, all this political talk was putting him to sleep. "No. I never wanted to be an 'icon'. I don't care if they stop people from talking about me or ban those dolls... actually yes, please _do_ keep those banned- they're freaking creepy. But now, they're trying to cut me out of things completely... and for once, I _do _have a personal stake in the Spirit Eaters."

Samora looked doubtful. "Of course you do. You said it yourself. Several of your closest friends are Shinigami. But does that mean you feel the need to involve yourself in every single battle the Soul Society engages in?"

Ichigo stared at him, feeling Sado's own gaze on his shoulder. He'd never thought of it in those terms before. "I... I protect who I need to protect. Whoever I _can_ protect. I don't _care_ about 'reputation'."

"Well they do", the prince said sadly. "The case was made by one of the other clan elders that if your success rate continued, the Soul Society might become dangerously dependent on you, if it hasn't already."

"No one wants that", Ichigo agreed vehemently. "But I was actually talking about Tatsuki-chan. I'm the only one who would even make the effort to bring her in alive. I have to stay and fight. So long as there's the slightest chance..."

"Ah. Your friend." Samora seemed to have forgotten about the event that had brought war to his home once more, but the name refreshed his memory. "My apologies, but I cannot help you, Ichiga. The 13 captains all have clear orders from above to exclude you from any battle they feel they can win without you. And you are right- they will show your friend no such mercy. She is doomed."

The grim sentencing caused Inoue to flee from the room, and he could feel Sado moving up beside him in her place. "We have to save her", the taller boy said simply, uncaring of all the prince had just told them. "We have gone against the will of Soul Society before."

Realizing how that might sound, Ichigo studied the prince's face in alarm but found no sign of hostility, only hope. That alone was proof of how much even Samora idolized him. _Even if he can never get my name right. _"Only if we have to, Sado. We have friends here now. We can't fight them, no matter what."

"Yes. Please don't", the prince agreed. "It would surely break lady Rukia's heart like a mighty hammer to have to fight or arrest you."

"_Never_", he promised just as quickly as when he'd promised not to breathe a word of this to anyone he didn't trust completely. To his great remorse, he found that several Shinigami had just now been removed from that list. _ If we want to save Tatsuki-chan... then we can only rely on a handful of people. __Non-Shinigami only, until she's safe. _

It was a realization that chilled his skin. He always hated lying to anyone, but to save a friend he would construct tall tales worthy of Gin Ichimaru.

As if summoned by his thoughts, the nurse returned, looking impatient. "Your time was up two minutes ago, Mr. Kurosaki. If you would please remove yourself now, the prince has other guests waiting to visit."

He didn't recognize any of the ones waiting out in the doorway. They had the garish look of nobles, direct relatives of Samora with skin as brown as Yoruichi's.

Yoruichi. _One Shinigami who might be willing and able to help us_, he thought hopefully as they made their way out of the infirmary ward.

Of course first, they would have to find her.

* * *

><p>The lack of audible sound was Nemu Kurotsuchi's first clue that something was wrong. No doubt this effect had extended across the entire laboratory somehow, preventing direct communications even through video feeds. She would not have been surprised if her father was ineffectually barking orders to her from his location.<p>

_Father._

Fortunately, there was no need. She was not merely the biological daughter of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, but a combination of _Gigai _and artificial soul technologies only he could comprehend, creating a perfect, albeit gender-reversed, clone of himself. When her father was agitated by something, even by her, there was no real need for him to scream at the top of his lungs as he often did. She could feel it. She could _feel _his displeasure from here.

_Something is disturbing father's work. Something coming this way?_

For the aforementioned 'great work', the current locus of her father and captain's efforts, was right here before her in the sub-basement of the hidden lab. Surrounded by the usual assortment of machinery backlit with violet, the large cylinder in the center contained Mayuri's latest experiment. Fast asleep.

Trying to feel out exactly what her father would want her to do if he was capable of reaching her properly, Nemu stared into that glass cylinder absently, unperturbed by the pale nude figure within- she had seen much worse in her time with her father. Her own existence had come into being in a place not far off from this one, though she knew enough to guarantee that this was not some kind of replacement for her, regardless of how often father claimed he would do that some day in moments of anger.

This wasn't another _Gigai_, Nemu knew. It was a human, a woman who had kindly volunteered herself for the advancement of father's research. Though it had been only three days since the experiment had begun, changes had already made themselves apparent on the woman's middle-aged body. Every bit of brown hair had fallen out, the skin brightening into a light shade that reminded her of green tea. The arms and legs had grown substantially in length compared to the human norm, stretching out another few feet, the same effect being applied to the woman's limp fingers.

Then, the pressure. The entire chamber remained resolutely mute, but Nemu could feel the sign of a strong spiritual energy approaching. _... Father? No. He's still upstairs._

A trick. The signature was like her father's... yet not. It felt like someone had borrowed some of her father's energy. _Which would explain how they haven't been gassed or crushed to death by the traps yet. They have a part of father's reiatsu, making the detectors think it's him._

But it wasn't Mayuri. She was sure of it now. Whoever was coming had intruded unwanted into her father's lab and done _something_ to hurt him and block out all sound in this hidden laboratory.

They would pay dearly for that.

As the Spirit Eater stepped inside, clad in black fatigues that let her blend in well, Nemu pounced. Her _Zanpakuto _existed, but despite repeated practice her skill with it had always been an inferior tactic to merely using her enhancedstrength and agility to pound an opponent senseless. This enemy had been wearing headphones and a music-playing device of all things, completely unaware until the first hit sent her sprawling.

Doubtless those rapidly-moving lips were snarling some kind of threat, but the intruder's ability to produce legible words was every bit as impaired as everyone else's. Seeing only anger in those lava-red eyes, Nemu struck again, knocking the music device away, and the headphones along with it.

More mute threats from the intruder. However, this time something stopped Nemu's pounce, propelling her away into the wall. More of the same attack followed, a constant blasting of soundwaves undeterred by the enemy's _Ianzamento_, keenly felt even if it could not be heard.

But her father had made her body well, durable enough to survive more punishment than any humans and even most Shinigami. Leaping back up felt like trying to move through a wind tunnel, but that was merely difficult, not impossible. To the enemy's apparent shock, Nemu marched forward, ignoring the blasts more and more until she could raise one fist to crush that youthful face and-

The first blow did not distract Yui Alumirr enough to forget about her other innate ability. Ignoring the pain, she clamped one arm down on the other woman's, reaching around and forcing palm-to-palm contact.

And in that moment, all sound snapped back into existence. Nemu grunted and Yui grinned nastily. "Teach you to wreck my music, bitch. Geez... your memories suck!"

Nemu had no time to respond. Her energy was going fast. Already the world was graying out, threatening her with eternal sleep. Not that her father had not delivered such a threat on regular basis, but this kind of death meant she would fail him. _Unacceptable._

A desperate hook kick severed the connection and they both fell back, breathing heavily. "You're pathetic", the Spirit Eater barked dismissively. "Your whole life you've done nothing but slave away for that pasty-faced kook! Can't you see how he abuses you?"

"Kurotsuchi-taicho is my father, and my master", Nemu shot back bitterly, trying to regain her focus for the one who had so foolishly disrespected her creator. "You will likely die for disturbing his research at this critical stage." Indeed, she could feel her captain approaching even now. Him and two others, though they both felt as strange and incomplete as the girl she currently faced.

The girl who was now examining the equipment around them, eyes coming to rest on the sleeping body of doctor Jutani Zatsua before she spat in disgust. "And I thought _our _creator was crazy. Whatever, I'll get you out of there in just a second. Then we can have our little _talk_."

The kick came from nowhere, sent Yui sprawling. "No way", she marveled once her head stopped ringing. "You must be even tougher than your lunatic of a captain!"

Already suspended on a one-footed _Hakuda _pose, Nemu shook her head thoughtfully. "You are mistaken. Kurotsuchi-taicho is much more powerful... but I am _not_ a true Shinigami. Draining my _reishi_ will have no more effect on me than draining a human."

Shaking her hair loose as her stood, Yui looked contemplative for a moment. "Really? Well, now I'm kinda sad I don't have time to fight you properly. Even if you're just a servant to that whack job, you've got some nice karate moves there, girl. Almost as good as Arisawa. Sooo... could you maybe hold off for like, just a few minutes while I punish Zatsua?"

But she could tell from Nemu's hard gaze what the answer would be. "It is _Hakuda_, not karate. And I will not permit you to damage any of Kurotsuchi-taicho's experiments."

"Permit _this_", Yui replied, a moment's sympathy giving way to the anger that had brought her here. No longer blocked by her _Ianzamento_, the sonic shriek tore through air, blasting her opponent back into the same wall. The impossible assault did not stop until Nemu had been reduced to clutching her ears in pain, barely moving. The buffeting force of it made it impossible to concentrate. It scattered one's thoughts, overwhelming any attempt as concentrating enough to fight back.

Once satisfied that her target was down, Yui shrugged casually, turning back to the glass cylinder. "Sorry about that. Maybe after this I'll sing you a better song. Something with rock guitars in it, yeah..."

Stepping closer to the tube she seemed to consider methods other than the obvious one for a moment, but then moved back. "And I got a song for you too, Zatsy. Your requiem!" Took a deep breath focusing sound waves-

And Zatsua's eyes flickered open. No longer covered by round mirrored glasses. No longer narrow with brown irises.

No longer human.

And suddenly Yui Alumirr seemed to have gotten something caught in her throat that was stopping her from releasing the sonic scream and shattering the tube. **You have been very bad, my child**, an elegant voice flowed into their minds, somehow tangible in the air without making any true sound.

**You shall be _punished_.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Bit of an author tract here by Samora, I admit it. As a natural protector Ichigo doesn't know or care about the effects his victories have beyond saving people he cares about. I'm also not completely certain how the 'canon' character would deal with this particular situation besides certainly defying the will of the captains to do what's right. Hopefully his reckless actions in the following chapters won't seem out of character for him.


	27. Part 27: Stand Up, Be Strong

**Note: **Warning for scenes of graphic violence in this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 27: Stand Up, Be Strong<strong>

* * *

><p>"You all meet in an inn", Orihime Inoue remarked, sitting down with a wistful smile. "Getting ready for an adventure."<p>

"We didn't meet here", Chad protested, taking his own seat across the table. "We came in together."

"No, I get it", Ichigo reassured him bemusedly. Ichigo the human now, lacking the bandaged wounds his Shinigami form had taken along with its vastly superior strength and speed. For once, he was glad to be his human self again, even if only for a short time. "But you're the last one I thought would know that game, Inoue."

She shrugged helplessly. "My brother played it a few times with his friends before... you know."

It wasn't even a proper inn really. Rarely did the _Seirtei _ever entertain guests who could not be interned at the castle or barracks, and so the place they'd met up with each other was more of an eatery that reminded Ichigo of the Shiba family's old place on a far larger scale. A dozen square wooden tables that looked like thick placemats decorated the area, easily accessed by the various staff he saw behind the counter. Instead of alchohol however, the preferred beverage of the day seemed to be merely hot tea. No one wanted to risk getting too carried away yet when they could come under attack at any time, even though he knew that Shinigami had a higher tolerance for it than humans.

"If it helps to think of it in those terms, then by all means", their fourth member half-whispered, careful to keep his features hidden beneath a wide flop-brim hat they'd bought with Inoue's allowance money. "Then I shall be the mysterious one of the team, lurking in the shadows until the time is right to strike."

"Save us the drama, Uryu", Ichigo chuckled. As usual, wherever they went it turned into a competition not who could be the better fighter, but who could manage the 'cooler' presentation. Still, he had to admit he was glad to see he'd survived their attack on the Naruki lab. "We've all got things to talk about, I'd guess."

"I won't be long", the blue-haired Quincy volunteered, taking one last look around to make sure no one had recognized his voice or was listening in on them. "I had just used the Quincy technique for travelling between the worlds when I found Adre and several others engaged at the east district. Knowing the Shinigami wouldn't take kindly to my presence- or I to theirs- I sought you out as quickly as I could."

"We're all glad to have you on board", Ichigo agreed, nodding without sarcasm. Now was the time when they needed as many non-Shinigami allies as they could get. "Hopefully if they didn't tell us anything about that, then it means Shunsui-taicho is handling it okay over there."

"He seemed to be", Uryu agreed. "But neither will they share any further information about the rest of the Spirit Eaters, correct?"

"That's right". Sado looked glum at the prospect. "They didn't tell us anything about it. They don't want us involved at all."

"With good reason", Ichigo pointed out. _There_, he thought to himself. That was the last time he would ever be charitable enough to defend the Gotei 13's decision to exclude him from something so important where his friends were involved. What might have been actual outrage at the Shinigami for him was tempered by the cold logic of _why_ it had happened. But only just.

Trying not to sound smug, Ishida tipped his hat forward, one nearly as wide as Shunsui's own. Ichigo idly wondered where he'd taken it from. "Maybe you see now why I'm not such a big fan of them. But regardless, the decision is made now. Will you be enlisting your old mentor for this mission?"

Ichigo shook his head wistfully. "We can't _find_ Yoruichi. She's not at her home. Not unusual, but normally I know she would've figured out what we're up to by now and contacted me. I can't even sense her spiritual pressure anymore. That means she's either dead..."

"...Or captured and drained", Uryu finished for him. "I don't know this Yoruichi Shihoin that well, but from what you've told me of her I wouldn't be surprised if she'd gone off to try and solve this problem by herself, if she truly feels it's her fault."

"She does", he concurred, thinking back to their earlier meeting, the first time he had ever seen the purple-haired Shingami woman cry. "And with her abilities, she actually might have had a chance of winning by herself. What gets me is when we asked her family where she was."

A subdued grunt from Sado was all he needed to express his own distaste for the matter, feelings which Ichigo certainly echoed. "They pretended like she doesn't even exist. Like there was no Shihoin clan member with that name, just because she helped Urahara-san!"

"Ridiculous, certainly", the Quincy agreed, watching the two of them stew. "Then it's all down to us. As a Quincy, it is my duty to ensure any creature as dangerous as these Spirit Eaters are neutralized for good, even if it means teaming up with my enemy. They pose a serious threat to all spiritual beings, and if there were any Hollows with functional brains they would be willing to join us for this mission too."

"It's just as well", Ichigo said, feeling a chill building in his left shoulder. "We're breaking one of them out of jail as the first step in our plan."

Unsurprisingly, Uryu looked dubious at the idea. "Explain."

Starting to truly realize just how much trouble they would all be in if they were caught, Ichigo actually took care to look around a second time, making absolutely sure that none of the other patrons were listening to them.

He grimly faced his other friends, alternately concerned and relieved at the lack of fear on their faces. "Inoue, Sado... you've been with me this whole time since we left Karakura town, even when I was too pigheaded to ask for help. But..."

He froze. Neither of them had said anything. The sudden shift in both of the invisible currents he'd learned to be unconscious readings of their feelings that only true comrades could sense was answer enough. And that shift had caused him to trail off, and remember the last time he had felt such a shift in a friend, even if this one wasn't quite as drastic.

_But what? Expect them to just go home and be safe? And wait for me to come back with Tatsuki? _Neither one of them would protest if he made it an order. He wasn't their master, but both understood and loved him enough to respect that wish and the reason why he'd been on the verge of making it.

"No", he decided suddenly, feeling Uryu looking at him strangely. "All I wanted to say is that this is going to be the most dangerous thing I've done for a long time. For once, I don't even _know_ if I'll succeed. But I have to do it. I _have_ to try and make up for my mistakes- I'd never be able to live with myself otherwise- but I leave it entirely up to you whether you want to come with me or not."

They both looked impressed by this, and Sado nodded slowly. "I understand. You want to avoid putting us at risk. You couldn't stand to let us get hurt. I think you might have just realized that we feel the same way about _you_, Ichigo."

"Tatsuki-chan is our friend too". All of the characteristic shyness and uncertainty seemed to have momentarily deserted Inoue Orihime, and she stared back into his eyes with a will of unbending iron. "She saved me once. In our position, nothing would have stopped her from setting things right. We both promise to be very careful when the fighting starts and follow your lead, Kurosaki-kun." And they nodded, winked at each other sheepishly.

Uryu spread his arms. "Bravo. There you have it, Kurosaki. Was that really so hard for you to accept?"

"A hundred times harder than fighting an Espada", Ichigo remarked with a faint chuckle. He felt like he'd just had a tooth pulled. "But it's over now. It's that selfishness that got us into this in the first place."

"You're forgiven", the Quincy drawled, adjusting his glasses businesslike. "Now, tell us about this plan of yours. Doubtless it's filled to bursting with glaring errors that I'll need to correct for us to have any chance of survival at all."

Under other circumstances he might have hammered Uryu for that insult. Instead he merely sat back and asked the clerk for a round of herbal tea, taking everyone's requests.

Then he told them how they were going to save Tatsuki Arisawa.

* * *

><p>Invisible pressure drove Yui Alumirr down to her knees, fought all the way but to no avail. Zatsua's newly-birthed eyes bored into her former subject, clearly angry despite lacking eyebrows or any movement of the stretch of skin which had once held a mouth. They were a vibrant alien green now, violet dots in their centers momentarily shifting to Nemu.<p>

And in that moment's distraction, Yui forced herself back up off the floor with the power of her own focused sonic shriek, growling as she landed, her gaze hardened. "You sent my brother to his death for _nothing_! Now you've sold us out to this crazy Shinigami! _I'll kill you_!"

Zatsua's first answer was a telekinetic slam into the wall opposite Nemu. Just as before, the voice had no mouth but defied sound, both Spirit Eater and Shinigami alike hearing it with their minds and their bodies, _feeling_ it weigh them down as she spoke. **Foolish child. Do you still not understand the true purpose of your creation?**

Bruised but not defeated, Yui stood. Blood trickled down her forehead and her gaze swam, but she could still make out the slender shape of Zatsua... and aim appropriately. More of the piercing sound waves rocked the chamber almost like deafening music and began to crack the tube from the bottom, but did nothing at all to distort that hateful voice still speaking in all of their minds. **Every single one of you were made to destroy the Shinigami, to destroy ghosts. That is your only purpose in life. Nogrand Juno embraced that fact, as did your brother.**

"We never asked for this!", Yui sobbed quietly. Every bit of burning anger that had built up since her powers had bloomed was suddenly like so much dust against whatever Zatsua had turned herself into. "You used us! Used us for nothing but your own damn revenge!"

Lacking a proper mouth now, Jutani could only express sorrow with her new eyes, infuriatingly gentle. **You are so wrong, child. My family's murder by Yoruichi Shihoin was my own personal motivation certainly, but I should think the rest of you should feel privileged to partake in this. Don't you see? The Shinigami have secretly manipulated humans in the world of the living for centuries, if not longer. By destroying them, we put humanity's destiny back in their own hands. Don't you feel honoured to be a part of history?**

Yui spat on the floor, reaching for the triangle tattoo on her palm once more. "All I feel is disgusted. What the hell have you done to yourself?!"

The hypnotic purple eyes looked wryly amused. **This? This is my contribution to history. With Mayuri Kurotsuchi's knowledge, we have finally developed a chemical process that can activate dormant G-cells in a person's body even if they were not born with them in their bloodstream to begin with. In other words, I have made myself into one of you. Ingenium Comedent.**

"You're a _freak_, Zatsua. You really think that form can stand up to the Shinigami? What, were you planning on killing 'em through indecency? Put some damn clothes on already!"

Something slammed her face into the floor, leaving it bloodier. **It is a work in progress, I admit. Though I injected as many G-cells into my body as I could bring from my lab before it was ****destroyed, only half of them have been revived by the process so far. Hopefully given more time with this treatment I can develop additional powers before heading to the battlefield. **Stepping free of the machine apparatus, the creature flexed one slender arm, splaying its fingers outward. **I will require practice with these new powers before I engage the Shinigami. Thank you, Yui Alumirr. Your contribution to history shall not be forgotten.**

The doors flew open, revealing Mayuri and Verdade, both looking aghast at the sight, the latter covering his eyes in shame. But Nemu knew by now that this interruption would not change Yui Alumirr's fate. Far from it, her captain and father looked thrilled to see the results of his labour.

And the young Spirit Eater stared into the finger pointing at her. For perhaps the first time ever, all the fiery arrogance that had gotten her this far was gone, replaced with survival instinct. Seconds felt like minutes, and just when it seemed to everyone present that the tension could hold no longer, Zatsua struck.

One clean fingernail, the center finger, flew out. Not a projectile, but an extension somehow spanning the entire length of the room in the space of one breath towards her target's exposed forehead. _ Into_ the forehead. Through the skull, and then out the other side where it nearly hit Mayuri before embedding into a wall.

All three of them stared, Verdade looking away in revulsion once Yui's arms and legs began a handful of reflexive twitches and blood began slowly oozing from the slack mouth. When the twitches had subsided and there could be no possible spark of life remaining in that brain, the nail finally retracted back into the hand, letting the body fall limply to the floor.

**A shame**, came the telepathic rumble. **She always had such vigor in her, just as her brother does. But we cannot let our resolve falter now. Not when we are so close to completing our mission here.**

No one could think of anything to say to that. Verdade and Mayuri merely stared, the former in shock and terror, the latter in joy and wonderment. Finally, Mayuri clasped his hands together in abject excitement. "Wonderful! Simply wonderful! The process worked perfectly, and on the very first try! Normally I have to go through at least five subjects before something like that succeeds!"

**Indeed.** Lacking a mouth, it fell to Zatsua's eyes to express her own pleasure at this outcome. **I must apologize for miss Alumirr's rude interruption, Doctor Kurotsuchi. I hope her insolence has not soured you on our arrangement.**

Mayuri did look fairly annoyed now, looking down furiously at the girl's corpse and scowling as he closed his own long fingernails around each other like knives. "If you hadn't killed her, I would have. That foolish girl had no respect for scientific genius. Still... perhaps her body might be of some use to me in a future experiment. I have rarely seen a body with only the brain suffering any damage... NEMU! Put this one in storage vat 23!"

**You shouldn't stare**, Zatsua's new voice went on, addressing Verdade now, covering her chest with her meter-long arms. **Certainly I feel less strongly about it now, but I still remember my modesty and chastity. I will require another facility to continue the treatment- as beautiful and powerful as this feels, I don't think it will be enough to stand against the Shinigami when they arrive tomorrow.**

"Tomorrow?!", the words exploded from Verdade, hardly believing it. "You mean they're going to find us?"

**Yes. Lanis foresaw exactly when our ruse would be discovered. He saw there would be a major battle taking place here tomorrow afternoon, and that unless I gain the complete power of my creations, we will lose. As he predicted- ARGH!**

Verdade, Mayuri, and even the occupied Nemu covered their ears. But that could not stop a telepathic scream, particularly one so sharp. One moment Zatsua had been speaking 'normally', then her body had fallen to the floor as if in a violent seizure. **Hurts... it hurts...!**

Mayuri merely shrugged. "Ah. One unwanted side effect of the procedure. Oh well."

Verdade stared at him, barely even noticing Barton Eishichi hobbling in behind him. "'Oh well'? She's in agony! Can't you do _something_?"

**HURTS!**

But the Shinigami sighed at him in hateful swagger. "Young man, we have already had miraculous luck in activating these 'G-cells' as she called them. A small side effect like this is only to be expected, although that screaming is getting rather annoying... I guess we'll have to put her to sleep for now NEMU!"

As ordered, his lieutenant ran forward intending to quickly knock Zatsua out... then drew back, thus saving herself an impalement. Zatsua's nails were more like swords now, Verdade recognized in shock. A pure white enamel that hinted their strength to be far greater than a human fingernail. These would not break so easily, and they could be extended and retracted in milliseconds. Five deadly blades in each hand, and even one could pierce bone.

**It hurts**... Zatsua repeated, sound uncharacteristically weak and needy on the floor. **It hurts, it hurts, it hurts...**

Then the other hand splayed out much as it had when she had killed Yui, reaching for the same target as last time. The nail shot through the torso this time, impaling and lifting it up before retracting, bringing the body along with it.

And before three pairs of horrified eyes and one excited pair, the body of Yui Alumirr fell apart into a pile of gray ash. And Zatsua was no longer screaming in pain. **Better.**

"Slightly more manageable", Mayuri corrected himself proudly. "Even if I lost a good corpse out of the deal."

"You're _sick_", Verdade scowled beside him, no longer caring if he was the only one here without any powers at all. "Zatsua drained her! Completely! How?!"

"This treatment has caused horrible physical mutations along with crippling pain", Barton spoke up gravely, his shadow still for once. "She can now drain the _reiatsu _out of us as well as the Shinigami by touching their skin. I would stay away, my friend- that seems to be the only way she can alleviate the pain, but I don't know for how long."

Verdade turned- anything to stop looking at the horror his creator had turned into- and looked at Barton's weary eyes. He had not forgotten how the white-bearded old man was the only Spirit Eater who had tried to stand up for the rights of the _Fallos_. _Fallos_ like him, who were originally slated to have been killed for failing to develop any useful powers.

He'd been a fool to go along with all of this madness. He should have turned on Zatsua the moment she'd let him out of the sub-basement and given him a name.

From now on, he would only trust Barton; everyone else here was too crazy for his liking. "Barton-sama. This is so wrong. Can we... go?"

The old Spirit Eater shook his head. "No. At least, _I_ cannot go. Not while my friends will be in the coming battle."

"Assuming Zatsua doesn't eat us all first to stave off her pain. She just _consumed_ one of our friends!"

"A real possibility", Barton agreed sadly, blinking back his own revulsion at how Yui Alumirr had been devoured, leaving behind only gray ashes and her music player and headphones as a memorial. "But only those of us who have been busily absorbing _reiatsu_ from the land and the people to fuel our powers. Draining spirit energy is what stops the pain. You will be safe from her, and I should think she will send you to achieve your purpose soon enough anyway."

Verdade blinked, then remembered. "Right. My purpose. The... video camera. Our record of the Shinigami's existence."

"Yes." Pausing until Mayuri and Zatsua had left to find another facility- both being extremely careful not to touch the other's skin by accident- Barton leaned down hard on his walking stick, suddenly feeling the fatigue of his artifically-aged body. "Don't you fret about us, my friend. Zatsua has already chosen our paths for us, no matter where it might lead in the end. When I am gone, it will be up to you to ensure that the rest of the _Fallos _are treated with dignity and respect. It will be up to you to bring them out of the dark underground, and help them readjust to being human again."

"Right", the young man nodded firmly. Finally, his long-time protector. Someone who's words he could trust. Someone who wasn't a mad scientist devoid of ethics, who would order him to do things he felt _good _about doing. It had been far too long. "I guess I'll have to ask Arisawa to cast that portal spell again once she gets back. Then I'm out of here, and you..."

"I told you my friend, don't worry." The ever-morphing shadow behind Barton gave a small mischievous shake like a rattlesnake's tail, indicating it was merely waiting for something to happen. "I can hold him back, but only barely. _O Home Sombra_ will continue to protect these old bones whether I want him to or not. At the battle earlier there wasn't a single Shinigami I saw who could stand against his power. Not even the 3rd squad captain."

"It's not the _Shinigami_ that I'm worried about."

"I know." He put an arm around the younger man's shoulder, very slowly so as not to stir up his _Ianzamento._ "But this is _my_ destiny, my friend. Miss Zatsua was right about that much at least. I was never born as a human. Painful side effects not unlike those you just saw have stolen whatever youth I might have had. If there's any purpose to my living such a life at all besides protecting my comrades-_all_ of my comrades both _Ingenium Comedent _and_ Fallos_- from harm, it's what she said. To slay the Shinigami. To protect humanity from their power."

"...Alright." Knowing he would never talk his old mentor out of this course no matter how hard he wanted to try, Verdade put his own hand around Barton's stooped back and gave it a gentle pat, again careful not to appear the slightest bit threatening to the shadow behind him lest it take his hand off. "I'm sorry. Being out here in the open like this, exploring the Shinigami world... I think it made me forget my place."

"No." The snow-bearded man was suddenly firm and rosy-cheeked. "No,_ your_ place is back in the world of the living with the rest of humanity, enjoying a life in the sun. I have always said this, and now Zatsua and Frigeld cannot stop you from freeing the others from the dark. I hope that you treasure every day of freedom that we will fight to give to you tomorrow."

"Count on it. We all will. All of humanity will, I swear it."

Verdade knew he was powerless in this and everything else happening in the Shinigami's world. He lacked the future vision of Lanis Adelkus to see what would be coming next if everyone continue on their chosen course.

But he also knew now that he would never see Barton Eishichi again, and for that he wept.

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Renji Abarai didn't mind the boredom of guard duty for once. It helped him appear genuinely furious and correspondingly fierce as he bored his teeth to grit away the doldrums. At the moment, that was a hundred times better than looking even the slightest bit scared of his charges.<p>

When his captain had been called away to investigate the disappearance of Mayuri Kurotsuchi from his lab in the Research and Development district, it was only natural that he would assign another from his squad to take over the task of keeping their prisoners suitably bound and cowed. More than that, the fact that he'd specifically asked his lieutenant instead of another captain meant he was giving Renji another chance to prove he wasn't the weak fool his captain constantly claimed him to be. All he had to do was intimidate two humans and a blue fox who wasn't even awake.

The only problem was, one of these humans had proven rather difficult to intimidate, even with his narrow, tattooed face and sharp teeth. Hyn had gone on with his strange ethereal song, in words that only he seemed to care about. Though creepy, the lyrical was keeping him from the embarrassment of falling asleep right there in the detention ward. Dying would be less painful.

Still, appearances had to be kept up. "Shut up with that", he growled at Hyn Alumirr, causing the other human there to flinch away. "You're a terrible singer! Who taught you that crap anyway?"

"My commander", Hyn replied, infuriatingly smug at having caught Renji's interest. "He always said you Shinigami had short tempers and were easily provoked._Die ihr am goldenen Quelle der sicheren Jugend weilt..."_

"Seriously?", a familiar voice came to him from the stairs, preluding Ichigo, Inoue and Sado. "He's still at it?"

"I dare do much more, _gespenst",_ the Spirit Eater chuckled darkly, lava eyes glittering in the cell. "After all, I must find some way to entertain myself until my sister comes and breaks me out of here."

"Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath for that happening", Renji jeered, standing and stretching his muscles. "Finally gone back to human form, have ya? Don't tell me you're going back to Karakura Town _now_?"

"Never", Ichigo assured him. "Not while all this is going on. I just didn't want to let Kon have my body for any longer than necessary, and we finally found the perfect substitute for him."

As if on cue, Inoue produced from her handbag the Ichigo doll he had gotten from the shady clerk yesterday. It stood in her spread palms and gave everyone a look that suggested it hoped itself to be dreaming and about to wake up. "When we get home", the doll threatened in Kon's high-pitched voice, "I'm gonna bite a hole in the toe of every single one of your socks!"

"I don't see the problem", Ichigo remarked back in irritation. "Isn't it just like my body, except the size you're used to?"

"Exactly! I _like_ being big! People step on me when I'm small! You're just gonna leave your human body again soon anyway, why can't I-"

"So you are heading out again", Renji observed warily as Sado smothered the mod soul's rants. "I hope you've figured out by now that I can't tell you where those Spirit Eaters have holed up, even if I did know... which I don't. I appreciate the visit, don't get me wrong. Anything's better than these dullards."

Ichigo shrugged. "It's fine. I won't ask anything of you, Renji. Actually, I'm kind of glad- the fact that you're here makes this easier."

_That_ stopped him leaning back to relax, his arms no longer folded around the back of his white bandana. This was starting to feel entirely too familiar... "Waaait. When we first met, what was the first thing I said to you? Answer!"

The young human rolled his eyes. "Great, this again. It's _me_, you idiot! Do you _really_ think that all three- sorry,_ four_ of us now- are Spirit Eater impersonators copying our energy signatures? They only have one who can change their shape that way, right?"

"That we know of", Renji pointed out as Inoue studied the brick floor intently. "Even if you are the real thing Ichigo, I wouldn't suggest you doing anything drastic right now. The 13 captains are already on high-alert. You don't want to give them an excuse to arrest you too."

Looking taken aback by this accusation, Ichigo heaved a sigh. "I got the message, yeah. They don't want any loose cannons during this crisis. So... I'm just here now to turn in my badge."

Now he was even more confused, his fierce eyes darting from person to person as if expecting one of them to transform into a giant spider any second. "What? Turn in your badge? You can't mean-"

"Here", Ichigo held up the five-sided item innocently, the very tool he'd been given to unlock all his Shinigami powers. "My Substitute Shinigami badge. You'll take good care of it, won't you Renji?"

"Um... I'm sorry, what?"

He did not have to say 'now'. The others simply acted in sync with him, Chad casting a massive white-armoured carapace between them and the lieutenant and Orihime suddenly raising her hands and calling out to her spirits. Before Renji could get near then, a pale orange barrier burst into life before him, strong enough to actually knock him back as he charged.

At the same moment, Ichigo ducked down and tossed the badge in his hand beneath the cell door to bump into the far wall and rouse the one-armed human within from sleep. Reeve Pastell blinked repeatedly, yawned... and smiled when he saw what had awoken his fitful sleep. "Boss. Oh, boss. I knew you wouldn't forget about me."

"...No. No matter how hard I try. Hurry up and touch that badge, will ya?"

Looking nearly as confused as Renji had, Reeve had to push hard against his bonds to squeeze down and grab the tiny item with his dangling feet. By then, the lieutenant had called out his _Zanpakuto _spirit and taken a battle stance. "Don't make me do this", he pleaded. "Rukia was one thing, but the Soul Society will never forgive you for letting one of these guys escape! No matter what the reason!"

"Sorry, Renji-kun", Inoue shrugged helplessly, quickly spouting off incantations to triple the thickness of the barrier as Zabimaru's spine of blades assaulted it in lash after lash. "I promise we'll tell your captain how well and bravely you fought trying to stop us!"

Renji's eyes went wide in fear, and his chain blade attack momentarily halted. "N-no! Please don't do that either! He'll crucify me!"

"We'll make it up to you later, somehow", Ichigo promised his old friend, apologizing as well. If only it had been Renji instead of the pale-haired Spirit Eater who they needed for this plan to work, he would have been glad to have him along. "Go, Kon."

The doll with his own features looked annoyed, but still ran between the bars into Reeve's cell as planned, sizing up the occupant and looking unimpressed. "Bah. Not sure what you want with this guy, Ichigo. He's only got one good arm, how great a fighter can he possibly be?"

"You'd be surprised", Ichigo said, brushing his bruised cheek and thinking of their earlier duel. "But I don't want Pastell for his fighting skills. We've got that part covered. What we need is someone who can tell us where Zatsua and the rest of her frea- her followers have gotten off to."

It was only then that the mod soul seemed to realize that what they were doing went against the will of his original creators. The thought froze his new body up, but only for a moment. He shrugged, innocently, eyes nearly shut. "Whatever. Just so long as you're not dragging me along for the ride! I've had enough of these guys trying to kill me!"

Despite his protests, the Ichigo doll did as he'd been told, grabbing the badge when Reeve failed to, climbing the man's prone body and pressing it to his face. "There. Enjoy! Or whatever it is this is supposed to-"

The result could not exactly be defined as an explosion, but it was still enough to propel Kon screaming out of the cell to make a tiny imprint in the far wall. When the hurricane rush of power bent then broke the cell bars, Ichigo ducked around the metal wreckage and stared.

So did Reeve Pastell. Almost as an afterthought, he forced the shackle holding his single arm open with his newfound strength. "Okay boss, you can't _possibly_ expect me to believe you thought of all this yourself."

"Guilty as charged." Turning to view the rest of prison mainly to make sure Hyn's cell wasn't compromised, he took the badge back and stared into its design. "When I told Uryu about how much of my _reiatsu _you'd absorbed, he figured all we needed to bring that out again was the Substitute Shinigami badge that usually ejects _my_ spirit from my body. Technically we're both humans, so all of the power you took from me could be unleashed the same way."

"He is quite the smart one when it comes to things like that", Reeve agreed, again sounding as if reciting from stolen memories. "If only he'd stop pretending not to like us. Where_ is_ he, anyway?"

"You'll see. Just... tone it down a bit, will ya? Your spiritual pressure's gonna read like a copy of mine while you're like that, and in case you haven't guessed, I'm no longer favoured by the Gotei 13. They're probably already sending tons of guards down to this floor."

The teen grimaced, but the invisible pressure of his stolen energy receded as ordered. "Were you ever? By the way, can I have a little more-"

"NO. Sado, do it."

Now it was his other friend's turn to act, silently rising and summoning the massive Hollow-like carapaces that had enclosed his arms while fighting in the_ Rukongai_. With a mighty shout, he laid into the far wall next to the spot where Kon's imprint was, blasting a hole in it roughly the size of a tractor tire after only two strikes.

Sunlight shone through the hole, and a blue-haired head with it. "About time. They have patrols flying around the castle now, I think one of them saw me."

"No helping it", Sado noted, swiftly hauling the young Quincy through the gap. "I will keep them back if they come."

"_Enough!_", Renji panted, beyond frustrated with Orihime's barriers but not willing to unleash his _Bankai _on a friend just yet. "Okay, I _get it_. You're badass, you've completely shown us up. But Byakuya-taicho will never forgive you for this if you go through with it, Ichigo! None of the captains will! And whatever mercy_ they_ might show you doesn't exist in Central 46! They could plunk your soul down in the Muken prison next to _Sosuke_ _Aizen!"_

Ichigo gave a shudder devoid of sarcasm. "That's a fate worse than death alright. Thanks for the warning, Renji-kun... But my mind's made up. _All _our minds are, right?"

Though not as one, each of them eventually managed a firm nod. Inoue, Sado, Uryu, and now Reeve. Kon remained too dazed to nod, and Inoue took a moment to safely pocket him. "In all my life on the streets of Naruki, I only ever met one guy I was actually interested in helping without gettin' paid for it", the last of these claimed, sending an arrogant snicker at Renji's anguished face. "That's _you_, boss. You're a hundred times more interesting than these old ghosts. I'm with ya to the end."

"Thanks. I guess." Satisfied and already hearing a stampede of approaching footsteps, he nodded to Uryu. "Ready?"

He needn't have bothered- Uryu already had a dozen or so of the slender metal projectiles he called 'Seele Schneider' in his gloved hand, passing them over to the Spirit Eater. "Alright you thug, listen up. I want you to use your reverse spirit-drain ability to transfer some of Ichigo's spiritual power into each of these _Seele_ _Schneiders_ before I fire them, understood?"

Reeve looked understandably confused, but certainly willing to obey with the law mere moments away. Taking each cylinder into his single hand, he shut his eyes concentration only for a moment, then Uryu would snatch the weapon back and place it into his glowing blue bow.

"Fifteen", Ichigo elaborated, as if having just now decided on that lucky number. "Give each one about one fifteenth of your current _reiatsu _if you can- we don't want any energy left to give us away when you're done."

"Be more demanding, please", Reeve grumbled as he released more and more of the energy that was keeping him upright into each cylinder. Each burned brightly as Uryu released them through the hole like thin flying swords. "Yeesh. Now what?"

"_Now_ there's fifteen different decoys all emitting a spiritual pressure signature exactly the same as Kurosaki Ichigo's, scattered harmlessly all over the _seritei_", Uryu explained smugly over his stretched bow arm. "And the real thing has reverted back to being a human for now, so they won't pick us up as we leave through this improvised door that Sado has created for us. That was why we had to make sure you used up _all_ of your stolen _reishi_ energy, so they couldn't trace you."

"Hungry now", Reeve complained. His single hand looked dangerously eager to plunge into someone's face and leech them dry, his eyes emitting a strange green haze. "Can I-"

"NO. You can refill once we're clear. C'mon."

As luck would have it, they could see only a single Shinigami patrol outside- it looked like they'd organized into teams of 3 sweeping the skies for intruders. But they hadn't expected an incursion from inside their own castle, and before long they were gone, no doubt flying off to investigate one of Uryu's decoys.

Knowing their time was short, the group lunged forward out of the gap before sprinting from rooftop to rooftop, Sado carrying the human Ichigo, Uryu carrying Inoue, and Reeve travelling alone on the last embers of his strength- none of them had wanted to take the risk of accidental skin contact that would come with carrying him, even if he was now the slowest of them.

As the last of the orange barriers finally fell away, Renji Abarai could only curse.

* * *

><p>Like his colleagues, the head captain had acute enough spiritual senses to detect the obvious signs of conflict long before anyone could give them verbal confirmation. When the energy of Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly flared up then split into fifteen pieces, Genryusai Yamamoto was already sitting up from the strategic map of the realm he had sworn to protect and on his way out the door, several others accompanying him into the lobby before the breathless messenger finally reached him.<p>

This one dressed entirely in black robes that also masked his face, and along with it any panic the spy might have otherwise betrayed. The same was true for the rest of the famous stealth squad, squad 2 which had once belonged to Yoruichi Shihoin and now passed on to her former apprentice Soifon, and in most cases masking their fear was not a necessary precaution. They had little of it to hide.

"Reporting on the actions of Ichigo Kurosaki and his human comrades, as ordered Taicho", the Shinigami spy said briskly, breaking into a fast walk when Yamamoto refused to stop for him. "They have broken one of the enemy out of the prison level, then made a break for the border. We have six units in position to intercept, including squads 3 and 5. We await your command."

Yamamto pretended to mull it over. In truth, it was a decision he'd made long ago. "No. Let them go. Merely follow them very closely, and have squads 12 and 5 ready to engage on my command. Instruct Soifon-taicho and her agents to do the same. They shall lead us to our enemy's stronghold, at which point we can bring this struggle to a swift close."

The agent's wide-eyed surprise was understandable. Having served for a long time under Soifon, he would not have any of the so-called 'soft spots' which the four noble clans had accused several of the other captains of having for the human named Kurosaki Ichigo. "Sir, this is an abject betrayal of the laws of Soul Society. Kurosaki has _turned_ on us! We cannot allow-"

Though proud, the spy also knew his place, and Yamamoto was able to quiet him with only a glare. "This is our chance. It is the only way we can utilize Kurosaki Ichigo's true strength. Yes... the only strength that my superiors have not foolishly forbidden me to use..."

"S-sir?"

"The strength of compassion, the strength to make loyal allies out of former enemies", the aging captain noted sadly to himself. "The strength which I myself once possessed. Where has it gone, I wonder?"

It didn't matter, really. It had gone away at some point, and he doubted he would get it back in this lifetime. His enemies feared him too much, and rightly so.

On the bright side, his plan was working perfectly.

* * *

><p>"Tomorrow they will come", Lanis Adelkus spoke with more conviction than he had ever shown before. With Zatsua indisposed and requiring more treatments, it was now up to him to keep the others focused on their objectives. The best way to do that, his visions had shown him, was to bless them with the truth which he had beheld. "Tomorrow the Shinigami will come to destroy us and <em>meu mestre<em>. We will fight, and we will win. Because we are fighting for our very lives, and hers."

His audience didn't look terribly enthused about the prospect. From his chosen spot on the catwalk Mayuri had installed for easy access to each chamber, he could make out the shapes of Barton Eishinshi, Tatsuki Arisawa, Mefist Kiatenin, and Princess Adre Gryuryana. Resigned, doubtful, eager, scared. None of them looked like they could be even a suitable speed bump at the moment.

"I have slept, and I have dreamed", the new leader of their little band spoke again, trying hard to make his dead gray eyes shine with newfound sincerity beneath the new lenses covering them. As Zatsua no longer needed them, she had bestowed her round mirrored glasses on him, almost like a badge of rank dictating his seniority now that Frigeld and Nogrand were gone. On his nose they blurred his vision slightly, but he had no need to see clearly yet, and they did have something of an effect on his audience. "I have seen the great cities of the Shinigami crumbling, I have seen their great white castle set ablaze. All of this will happen if we merely continue to play the roles _meu mestre_ has selected for us. The roles that _destiny_ has chosen for us to play."

That last bit was mainly intended for Arisawa, who looked even more uncertain than she had before departing on her own diversionary attack. She was studying the metal floor closely, afraid even to look up and face him. _No. Not afraid. At least, not afraid of me._

Along with visions of possible futures inevitably came knowledge of a person's motivation if he chose to focus on them. He had little doubt that once the object of her torment arrived she would show more enthusiasm for the cause, but for the moment it would be wise to shore up the weakest resolve here. There was after all, he thought dryly, no such thing as a guarantee, even for one with the power of clairvoyance.

"Let us not forget that we have come here on the behalf of _humanity_. We were created as the ultimate tools with which the balance of power between the living and the dead may be equalized. Everyone you've seen back in the human world, everyone you ever knew before your powers manifested and you became aware of your true destiny... we fight for all of their futures as well!"

A bit better of a reaction now. Eishinchi, the eldest of them, seemed to have found a new strength in his bones despite Lanis' story not really applying to him. The only real civilians he'd known were the _Fallos_ he'd dedicated his life to protecting. "And what of miss Zatsua? If we commit all this violence for the sake of humanity, will our reward for such sins be to be devoured by her?"

This provoked a shocked reaction from both Arisawa and Adre, neither of whom had seen Zatsua's hideous transformation or its abilities yet. "Mommy wouldn't do that!", Adre maintained fitfully. "She loves me! I know she does!"

"She loved her original family, child", Barton replied, suddenly apologetic towards her but unwilling to abandon his train of thought. "Her true family. And she will sacrifice all of us to take revenge for their loss. That is her only passion now, unless you count her growing need to consume _reiatsu _to ease her pain."

"That is a sacrifice she made for _us_", Lanis maintained irritably. _Damn it old man, you're changing __**my**__ future here. _"For our cause, and for us. She has always wanted to help us directly. If she'd had Mayuri Kurotsuchi's knowledge from the start none of this might have been necessary, but now she has sacrificed her own body to help us do what must be done. In my dream I have seen her walking among us, striking down the Shinigami in her path one by one. The pain she is willing to endure, if it means completing our mission."

"I want to see her", Arisawa demanded, stepping forward even more defiantly than Eishinchi. "I want to see what she's become."

"She's in critical condition at the moment", Lanis decreed quickly. None of them had asked where Yui Alumirr was yet, and he considered it a blessing that she was never really well-liked by anyone save her brother. "Suffice it to say, the treatments have made her extremely ugly. But also very powerful. When Kurotsuchi's process is finally complete, she will join us on the field of battle."

"Did you foresee that as well?", the question came on scornfully. "Or is that just what she told you to say?"

Paying attention now, Lanis dropped all other concentration and focused on Tatsuki Arisawa's fiery eyes, and all the possible fates behind them, playing themselves out for him in an ever-expanding chain of actions, just as he was used to whenever he focused that hard on one person.

Certainly there were quite a few probability branches coming up soon where Arisawa would finally snap in frustration and attack him with all her power... but he could also see numerous ways that fate could be avoided, and how to steer her future in those directions, towards a destiny that didn't involve him wasting valuable time and energy fighting one of their own, and their most conventionally powerful.

"I saw it, Arisawa", he answered curtly, staring down from the walkway. "But it's clear that you think I'm merely her pawn like Frigeld and Nogrand were, merely delivering whatever it takes to keep you all up and fighting."

"If the boot fits", Arisawa scolded him. "How can we possibly trust anything you say? You could be making all this destiny crap up!"

Possibilities swam before him, and again he chose the path of least resistance. "Miss Arisawa, you haven't been with us for as long as some of the others here. If you can't trust me, then at least trust _them_."

Far from a perfect solution, he would admit. The dark blue-haired girl didn't trust Mefist Kiatenin at all, and who could blame her? The man- at least Lanis believed the sociopathic shapechanger to be a man originally- made Reeve Pastell look like a lovesick puppy with his utter contempt and loathing for any but him or herself. No one could ever trust that. He chose not to respond to the bitter look Arisawa was giving him now.

Adre and Barton, however, held her gaze for longer. "He's never been wrong, my dear", Barton grimly confessed. "Even when sir Adelkus' brain was completely muddled and had the unwanted side effect of mixing various languages whenever he spoke, when we translated them his meaning always came true. It was _his _warning that prevented Frigeld and myself from coming to blows over the fate of the _Fallos. _He prophesied that no matter what, one of us would die in that battle. So Zatsua ordered him to stand down, and the _Fallos _were not killed, but merely banished to the sub-basement of the laboratory."

She did not look convinced, and neither did Adre. They both trusted Barton, but were realizing now that he had only held a position of power because Zatsua had allowed it. In the end, their destinies were the same. Continuing to follow the vision, Lanis waited just the right amount of time before leaning down towards Arisawa's doubtful eyes. "You hate Zatsua for what she's done, correct? For what she's done to each of us, whether we were injected with G-cells as infants or artificially bred in a lab?"

"I was_ happy_", she growled back after a moment. Just as it had with Yui Alumirr, the pent-up anger was exploding as if leaking through a broken dam. "I wish I'd never _heard _of a Shinigami. I wish everything had just stayed normal! Why did she have to do this to me?! Why did my uncle Matoba agree to it?!"

The seer nodded in complete understanding. Not one of them had ever asked for this. The painful side effects, the transformation, the hunger for _reishi, _the expectations of them... "Then perhaps I can share with you the unclouded truth. It's too late now to stop it now, after all."

"Stop what?", Kiatenin frowned, looking as confused as the rest and changing back into Rutori Igenari's body out of reflex. The appearance of a young black-robed Shinigami in their midst was a bit jarring- just as he had no doubt intended- but no one had any instinctive hate for them as Frigeld had. "C'mon, tell us! I do so love it when Zatsua-sama's plans are multilayered like that. Makes the surprise all the sweeter, heh heh."

"This is not Zatsua's plan", Lanis spoke simply, making sure to focus on the shapechanger now so as not to turn him against the rest of them. "This one is my own design. I have been preparing it since the moment I arrived in the Shinigami's realm and became fully sane."

He needn't have worried. Kiatenin brushed black hair away from his eyes, rubbing his hands and grinning savagely. "That's fine. The more complex the better."

Lanis nodded. Good. He'd earned their interest in this final secret he'd kept even from their 'creator', mometarily distracting them from their doubts. "I can't show you here. Come with me down to the secure level where all of Kurotsuchi's machines are, and I'll show you what I've been working on."

"Secure level?", Barton asked anxiously. "But the traps! They're coded to activate whenever anyone without Kurotsuchi's _reiatsu_ aura goes down there! _O Home Sombre_ will protect me, but I won't let you lead the others to their deaths!"

Now he focused on the old man last of all, able to sense a great deal of strife in his immediate future even compared to the rest of them. Nothing other than solid proof would convince him this wasn't a waste of time, and so he could only provide. He shut his eyes, removed the mirrored glasses and concentrated.

None of them had the refined spiritual senses of a Shinigami, but they all felt the new pressure slowly washing over them, nearly identical to the one already in the basement. "Kurotsuchi's spiritual energy signature", Kiatenin noted with grimacing approval at the deception. "I don't know how you convinced that crazy old fool to let you drain him, but nice job."

"Not 'let'", the seer noted without pride. "When _meu mestre_ sent me to subdue captain Kurotsuchi at the Shinigami Research and Development district, as we fought I drained a fair amount of his energy to calm him down and make him listen to reason. Which includes a good number of his memories, so I am fairly sure we won't get lost down there."

"He won't like it", Arisawa pointed out stubbornly, folding her arms. "If we can feel that, he sure can. He's yelled at me once already and I just got back. What a stuck-up jerkass he is."

"Then I trust you won't feel any qualms about taking action in the event that he becomes... ahem... too noisy for such close quarters?"

Of course not. None of them had any sympathy for Mayuri Kurotsuchi or his strange obedient sidekick Nemu. If the black-faced captain burst in on them shrieking recriminations at the top of his lungs without the unbeatable advantage his underground laboratory's various traps and poisons would normally give him, then the battle could only go one way.

The way that Lanis Adelkus had seen in his dreams. Exactly as planned.

* * *

><p>AN: Long chapter. Hopefully that second paragraph wasn't_ too_ gruesome, although stuff like that is pretty much par for the course for this series particularly where Mayuri is involved. I certainly don't plan on giving anyone abilities as disgusting as Szayel Aporro Granz' 'Fornicaras'. I think I got a lot of good establishing character moments into this one, setting the stage for the final battles. Please review!


	28. Part 28: Date of Rebirth

**Part 28: Date of Rebirth**

* * *

><p>Blue light greeted the new day as hilt was touched to the soul of the fallen. As a soul reaper Rukia Kuchiki was no stranger to the ritual, nor to the slight caveat that to cleanse a soul and send it to its destination was to feel some part of that soul's lingering feelings, mainly the ones that had dominated it and left it wandering without peace.<p>

"Your friend still lives", she whispered, for a moment not caring if her charge could hear it. "We'll find a way to give you your lives back, you have my word."

The blue light coming off her sword's hilt finally took the soul of the human Kreig Tsubaku, to her pleasant surprise purifying it into a 'Plus' instead of sending it to Hell. "So", the gentle voice of Retsu Unohana came to her ears. The older woman was far more experienced in the healing arts than she, but seemed content to let the young Kuchiki gain experience. "It is good to know that not all of the Spirit Eaters might be beyond saving yet."

Realizing she'd been speaking aloud, Rukia wheeled around and blushed despite herself. "...Y-yes, Unohana-taicho. This one had been friends with Reeve Pastell, and wished only for him to be safe. He never wanted anything to do with Zatsua's madness, but peer pressure from the rest of them kept him in line."

"A sad tale indeed", the squad 4 captain agreed, her eyes wide and reflective. "These are not Hollows after all, but human souls like any of those whom you met at Karakura town. We owe them at least a chance at clemency for their misdeeds."

"And not to get so caught up in defending ourselves that we forget about our primary duties", Rukia pointed out plainly, perhaps too eager to voice something that had been building in her mind for a while now. "These people's lives were tragic, made horrible by Zatsua's grotesque experiments and the cruelty of her most devoted followers. Without a _Konso_ performed, their souls might possibly turn Hollow in only a single day's time!"

"Leaving us with no choice but to perform further bloodshed", Unohana nodded. "I know your concerns miss Rukia, but I've been assured everything is still under control back in the world of the living, at least for now. Reserve members and several retired soul reapers have been deployed by the captains to major cities throughout the human world. The Hollows will not overwhelm in a week, or even a month's time."

"Good." She and Renji had managed to catch the occasional rumour about what the 13 captains were doing on that front now that so many had been pulled back to defend their own home, but it was nice to finally hear _something_ concrete. "I'd hate to think we've been slack in our duties just to protect ourselves. Duty is more important."

"Exactly as your brother says it", Unohana noted with a faint smile of recognition. She would of course be familiar with the platitudes the four noble families had pledged to honour, or at least the code her brother believed and rigidly held _his_ clan to. "Duty and honour over all, even one's own life. Despite all that has happened, we should feel fortunate that none of us have been required to make that sacrifice in the past decades."

Taken aback by that, she beheld the destroyed _Rukongai _around them with trembling eyes. "_This_ is a small sacrifice, Taicho? Igenari, Hakiza, Narahama, Rinjisaki..." There were a dozen more that she knew had died. She just could not remember their names off the bat, and was slightly ashamed for it.

"Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen", Unohana finished for her, her voice growing more stern, causing Rukia back up slightly. "And many more besides. But none of them fell to Hollows. Even with how many of them were granted Shinigami powers by the _Hogyoku _and turned into Arrancars, they are as nothing compared to the types of Hollows which once existed in this world in centuries past. Many of Yamamoto-taicho's friends were sacrificed, fallen in battle to put them down, and those lives we would offer again if something of that nature ever threatened the worlds. No, I consider it a blessing that our losses remain so paltry, Rukia Kuchiki, considering the number of battles we have recently become involved in... many of them sprouting from defectors within our own ranks I might add."

"I guess", she said, but it was halfhearted. Small wonder that so many of the captains- her brother included- often came across as cold and unfeeling when they had become used to that level of attrition in their battles. Death was swift and merciless even to its Gods. Gray-haired Unohana, the most grandmotherly and kind of them, the duly-elected head of the healer squad, had long ago accepted the harsh realities of warfare against an equal foe.

An equal foe, which was something they hadn't really seen until the Winter War, and who knew how many decades before then. "Thanks, by the way."

"Hn? For what?"

"For not bringing up my engagement. Everyone else did."

Unohana merely shrugged. "That is your own business, my lady. It would be rude of me to intrude upon it, particularly considering the inner conflict I knew you must be feeling. That is all I will say on the matter unless you wish to discuss it further."

Rukia gave another silent _thank you _before turning back to the task at hand. "One more."

Signaling one of the others in the mixed-squad- half healers, and the rest from squad 13 to guard them- Unohana raised her head up and narrowed her eyes. "Yes. The kamikaze, whom you told us of."

"I couldn't convince him to stop. No matter what I said..."

The chief healer's face remained serene. "It's fine. For some, death is the only possible path they can see ahead of them. We can only take it upon ourselves to ensure they do not suffer needlessly."

And there she was again, brushing past Rukia like a matron astride a noisy child. This wasn't deliberate, just an inadequacy she felt whenever she worked alongside one of the living legends of the _Seritei_, whether it was her brother's quiet power and resolve or the impossible spiritual pressure and bloodlust of Kenpachi Zaraki. In this case, it was the act of working with someone possessing over five centuries of healing skill and wisdom that had thrown her.

Surely captain Unohana had dealt with a fair number of human souls who had committed suicide in her career, and sent them on without botching the affair whether they were good or evil. Could _she_ have talked Nogrand Juno out of destroying himself?

With the refined senses of the reaper they found the soul resonating around in very same wine cellar where he had prepared his _Finis Absoluto_, the massive explosion of spiritual power that had very nearly killed everyone there. Once again the blue light of Rukia's sword hilt illuminated the invisible presence, preparing it for the next stage of _Konso._

She gasped as a heavy wave of pressure passed over them, ruffling their robes violently. The feelings she had expected from it were there in abundance, far more than the Spirit Eater had ever shown in life. In his limited view there was only the mission, and he had utterly failed in his. That was the regret chaining him to the mortal world, and it was only a matter of time before his simmering bitterness ignited into hatred for all things, and his soul transformed into quite another kind of soul-sucking monster. One which they were infinitely more familiar with...

A new sensation of pressure on her interrupted her thoughts, finally noticing the other pair of hands gripping the handle of _Soda no Shirayuki. _"His bitterness is great", Unohana claimed sorrowfully. "Even more than the others, this poor man's mind was altered long ago by the painful alchemical process that turned him into a Spirit Eater. To protect itself, his mind eventually denied all feeling, all emotion, bottling it all up inside. Leaving behind only a machine. That is what he told himself, perhaps even made himself believe... But of course, that is not true. No human nor Shinigami can ever fully destroy their emotions. If you deny them, they merely surface in other ways. Remember that, miss Rukia."

The ghost seemed to only become angrier at the healer's calm words. More wild surges rocked the cellar, throwing the doors open and further trashing the shelves and supports, wordless in their raw power. There was virulent denial. Frustration. Burning hatred for all those humans who had led normal, peaceful lives, and even more for the Shinigami who had caused him to fail in his ultimate purpose of destruction...

"Come", Unohana continued, her voice tempered steel as her spiritual power began to contend with the ghost. "A new life awaits you, one where you will not have to deny your feelings to survive." There was much more to it than that, Rukia recognized in shock. Even a half-trained eye could sense the way that Unohana's own power was now reaching out to that desperate maimed soul, somehow healing its emotional trauma without using words.

After several long minutes of silence, the blue glow finally took the soul of Nogrand Juno as well. And she could feel the slightest tingle from it as it entered the blade. Something that felt like... gratitude?

"Done", Rukia said, feeling the need to finalize it somehow. "Thanks again."

"You're welcome." Unohana leaned forward slightly, breathing out only the smallest bit of exertion. "I recognized almost too late this one's power. In the distant past, some of the weaker Shinigami were overwhelmed by particularly despondent tortured souls such as that one. Even would up infected by their hatred and attacking their comrades in madness. Fortunately, _Konso _is now basic training for any Shinigami who leaves the _Seritei _on missions, so that is far less likely to happen now."

"You _were_ protecting me then", Rukia murmured, feeling embarrassed. She'd sent hundreds, thousands of human souls to the next world both good and evil. What was so difficult about this one for her?

"I did not wish to take any chances. In the event that you should find a soul too volatile to be sent by you alone, standard procedure is to signal an elder Shinigami and monitor its condition while waiting for one's superior to arrive. Understood?"

Willing away the embarrassment, she mopped her brow. "Understood, Unohana-taicho. Looks like we're all done here."

"Not quite", Unohana contended, her senses having already picked up the masked 2nd squad messenger minutes before they'd left the cellar and he actually arrived, bowing.

"Cao Senjin. 3rd seat of the stealth core, delivering a new report to squad 4", the swift spy spoke tonelessly, ignoring the wreckage around them. "The same report is being sent to all captains currently in the field."

"Go ahead, agent."

Senjin paused momentarily, his mask hiding apprehension when he looked into Rukia's curious eyes. "All squads are hereby ordered to treat the Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo as hostile. His human and Quincy allies likewise."

Fortunately neither of them were watching Rukia because for many breaths she could not control her own face, could only barely stop herself from asking questions.

Unohana, of course, remained completely calm. "...I see. I understand we are not to actively seek out Kurosaki and his companions, yes?"

"That is correct. His fate has been left to the stealth squad under Soifon-taicho now. However, should you see any sign of him, you are ordered to capture his companions alive... and capture or kill Kurosaki."

That was still more sugar in the gas tank, and Rukia had to turn away lest the agent see her face. It burned. Only once he was gone did she dare look back.

"It would seem your human friend has overstepped his bounds once again", Unohana noted with regret. "Don't worry too much, Rukia Kuchiki. We all remember who it was who won the final battle of the Winter War. Who it was who finally defeated the traitor Sosuke Aizen. Orders or no, I doubt very much that even your brother will seek to kill Ichigo right away should their paths cross."

_Small comfort, nii-san_... "We're still done here", she replied blankly. "May I please take a moment's rest?"

"Of course. In half an hour we make way for District 8 now that the battle there has ended, to heal the wounded."

Unohana obligingly left her in peace. Which made it just a bit more difficult to focus on the decision the squad 2 agent's words had left her with. Either way, she first made sure to get a large distance away from the others, entirely by random chance moving to the district gate dividing it from the outside, where her voice would not carry.

"_...Ichigo Kurosaki, you DAMN IDIOT!_"

* * *

><p>"Dawn", Uryu Ishida called out as he sat up and stretched, hoping that would be enough to get the others moving as well. One thing the plan had not quite accounted for was sleeping accommodations; they had been forced to camp out on a rocky vale with only grass for cushion, with the occasional animal disrupting their attempts at rest.<p>

"No kiddin'." Fortunately, no one among them but Reeve Pastell looked truly tired, and he needed only touch the healthy land beneath them for a few minutes to undo whatever fatigue had built up in the first day of their journey together into the untamed wilds of the Soul Society's dimension. The Spirit Eater had been annoyingly needy about that and generally rude to everyone except Ichigo besides, but everyone knew the plan and why they couldn't just ditch him after he led them to their destination.

A fact that his 'boss' was well aware of, wearing his usual scowl as he finished his _Ianzamento_-cooked breakfast- only what meagre means they could bring with them or scrounge from the wilderness. "Sorry, I thought I heard someone shouting just now. Well, idiot? Are we close?"

"Can't say for sure", the white-haired teen said, shrugging mildly with his single arm. "All I know is Zatsua said we could join up with her by following the trail she had someone leave from the forest we came in through."

The trail was real enough. Even Ichigo had been forced to admit that much. The various murdered animals, the ashen gray bushes, dead fields and freshly-crumbled rocks might have seemed wanton at first, but stretching out with his own Shinigami senses once he'd been able to switch back to that form, he could just barely sense the pattern to the damage as well. A deliberate trail of ruin stretching to the east from the forest, father than he'd ever travelled in any of his previous visits. While useful, he couldn't help but wonder if it was Shinigami instinct or his own that brought the sense of revulsion he felt. Certainly, the numerous dead birds had brought Inoue to tears once, and clearly moved everyone to some degree, even if only slightly.

_There's only one way to end it_, he reminded himself firmly, taking the Substitute Shinigami badge in hand once more and switching back to the human body he'd been born with. He stared up into the graying sky, trying to make out shapes in the clouds as some omen of the fate that awaited them today. _Stop Zatsua. Find where she and the rest of them are hiding out, and save Tatsuki. That's what we're here for. Nothing will stop us. Nothing._

Which brought his mind to the next stage of the battle plan that he and Uryu had hammered out yesterday over tea. Part of him wanted to get it over with now, but he also knew it would be better until he knew they were close. Certainly Uryu would sense _something_ when they were nearby, and then they could make their preparations in full.

But that didn't mean he couldn't make other preparations now as they began to walk, again following the trail of destruction. Not something he'd thought about doing often before plunging into battle, admittedly, but this was a special case. And if that little high-pitched Hollow voice in his ear thought it a foolish move, then he wanted it more than ever.

"So. Your buddies. Got any idea what they can do?"

Reeve looked understandably surprised, given the deserved suspicion the others had treated him with so far. "You're serious?", he confirmed cautiously, still possessed of all Ichigo Kurosaki's memories and mannerisms even if his power had gone. "Well, as ya know I didn't really care for most of 'em..."

"I know. What can you tell us?" He caught a look of alarm from Uryu over his shoulder. He didn't care.

Reeve looked thoughtful for once as he walked. "Well, I'm pretty sure the old man is still alive. Ol' mister Seven. He acts all friendly and stuff and he needs a cane to walk, but his shadow's totally nuts. The thing you have to remember is that it goes after _your_ shadow, not you. That's what you have to use to block it. Watch the ground."

"Right." He remembered Barton Eishinchi from their first visit to the Spirit Eater complex in Naruki, though he hadn't performed any attacks of his own, merely led them into a trap. "Just hope we'll be there before nightfall then. Anyone else?"

"Yui Alumirr", Reeve recalled. "Mouthy chick always wearing headphones, about Inoue's age. But the real reason she came along for the ride was so that she could jam your _Kido _spells with her power to distort sound waves in a large area. The real thing to watch out for though, is her Ianzamento, _Endecha_. That _completely_ removes all the sound. So any trick you guys have that requires you to talk? Completely useless."

Ichigo could see the unrest in his companions' eyes over that bit of news, and was sure it was mirrored in his own. _No Bankai? No Getsuga Tensho? _He'd be at less than half of his full potential, Orihime even more so. "Thanks for the warning. Anyone else particularly powerful we need to know about?"

"Just one, boss". Now even Reeve looked glum. He knew full well how much Ichigo dreaded The Confrontation. They all were. "The strongest Spirit Eater. Our Number One. Arisawa. I don't even know what her Ianzamento _is... _Just that she kicked Frigeld's butt with it, taking the title of Number One from him."

"She always beat me in karate class", Ichigo commented with a forced chuckle. "But I'd still rather face her in human form."

"That is your choice, of course", Uryu said resignedly beside him. They'd discussed this already neither side backing down from their argument. "I still think that's a bad idea, Kurosaki. If she decides to attack you anyway, she could cripple or kill you with a single strike."

"She won't. You don't know Tatsuki." He felt a chill settle into those same threatened bones with his words, but had never allowed fear to control him, and didn't intend to start now. "I'm more worried about the others- AHK!"

**Kurosaki Ichigo.**

Without even realizing it, he'd doubled over in pain, one hand clutching at his head and eliciting four shocked responses. Four arms clasped about him, helping him back up, but the stinging sensation in his head remained. And persisted.

**You should turn back, Kurosaki Ichigo. You have no business here.**

"Ichigo?", Inoue asked in concern. "What happened?!"

He wasn't sure. He could only nod to her, try to reassure everyone that this wasn't some extremely long-range attack. _Just a very, very painful way of delivering a message. Telepathy? _The voice had sounded vaguely female, but overwhelmingly loud and strong, as if every word in his head was a weight crushing into his back, etching itself by force into his very thoughts, as if someone was branding each syllable into his brain. If it had been much kinder and less accusatory- and Ichigo had not already interacted with Death Gods on a regular basis- then he might have believed it to be the voice of Heaven speaking to him.

No..._ this_ was the other side of that coin.

**We have tried and tried to reason with you, Kurosaki Ichigo. But you continue to force us to take extreme measures. Go home. The Shinigami will be destroyed. You cannot stop this destiny. No man can.**

"Like hell I can't!", he replied to the empty sky, completely unsure if the voice could hear him. "The funny thing is, every time someone says I can't do something, I usually end up proving them wrong."

**Perhaps. But can you live with the consequences of your actions? **He couldn't be sure if it was some spell of the voice's owner or mere suggestion, but abruptly his thoughts off veered to places he'd considered once and never dared touch again. Spirit Eaters descending on their little band, armed with the power of a world, unstoppable. Uryu torn apart screaming in agony. Sado collapsing, blood spilling from his muscles. Inoue falling, the horrible glaze of a corpse already overtaking her desperate eyes...

He shook his head violently to clear those images away. Still they burned, but he could fight the pain and stop them from forcing their way in and dominating him. "That won't happen. I'm not alone."

The voice held no reply this time. There was only the concerned faces of his companions, Inoue foremost among them. "Ichigo...?"

"I'm fine." He straightened up, trying to look like his usual tough self despite being a human without any powers to call on at the moment. It was strange to think about, actually. No one would question he was the deadliest of their band while in Shinigami mode, but as a human he lacked Orihime's spirit summons and barriers, Sado's Hollow-like power arms, Uryu's Quincy arts, or even Reeve's draining abilities and heat-generating _Ianzamento. _"Just a warning shot. They know we're here. We're getting _close_."

He was not alone. He just had to trust in them, as they trusted in him. That was the only way to enter this trap without paralysing fear making those nightmare images a reality.

* * *

><p>Matoba Arisawa took care to extinguish his cigar as the guards silently led him into the head captain's quarters, for once wishing one of the Kurosaki lad's weird companions was with him now. He had seen many scary people in his time, but even if Yamamoto didn't seem particularly mad at him he could tell from the get-go that this was not a man to cross. His companion, a slender, almost sickly man with long white hair, was more pleasing to look at but still radiated that same terrifying power.<p>

"I have reviewed your application for amnesty for your crimes against nature, Matoba Arisawa", the ancient captain spoke briskly once the guards had taken their positions. They were hardly necessary in any case. "You have promised to give up all data regarding the Spirit Eater project?"

"Yes", he said quickly. "There's a reason I quit, uh, Mr. Yamamoto sir. Many reasons. But I know that doesn't absolve me for what Genkinto and Jutani Zatsua did after I left. They have perverted my work beyond even what I feared the Japanese government was capable of doing."

A slight glimmer shone from the Shinigami's eyes. A note of respect? Yamamoto was far older than any human, and thus nearly impossible to read even for him. "Then you will now explain to me how it is you learned of our existence, when it was made clear early on that you lack any spiritual powers of your own."

Matoba shrugged, an instinctive motion that clearly failed to hide how this prospect was scaring him. "...I see. Kept it hidden all this time, did she? I'm not surprised. She always did like playing things close to the vest." Seeing a moment of confusion on his hosts' face, he apologized. "Figure of speech. I'm starting to get the idea that most of your people prefer to keep their dark secrets to themselves."

"Too often, to our shame", the white-haired captain agreed stately. "But while a personal failure is one matter, refusing to disclose illegal actions is quite another. You were contacted by one of us?"

"Yes". It would be pointless to lie. "In a way. She was on a mission. Using a _Gigai_ to appear visible in the human world at the time, and we became friends. Then... well... a bit more than friends."

That had gotten not just the captain's attention, but the two guards as well. "Regardless of circumstances, such an interaction is a violation of our law. That violation is the indirect cause of this entire crisis. Though as a human you are not bound by the law, I hope you understand that confessing the name of your associate is the right thing to do."

All delivered very sternly by head captain Yamamoto, just as expected. Matoba had seen a few veteran Naruki cops a bit like this, had even seen one beating up a would-be racketeer for the mere attempt to bribe them. "Before I give you the name, I'd like to at least give you the context. I'd rather not be the reason that she gets kicked out of Soul Society."

"I doubt very much she will be exiled", the head captain spoke before his comrade could say anything. "Given the current situation and the severity of the violation that led to it, she will likely be _executed_."

Matoba stared back, disbelieving. "...You tell me this freely?"

"There is no point in deceiving you, Matoba-san", the younger one explained in a dour tone, looking like one used to smiling cheerily despite the grim tone of the examination room. "While I won't deny there have been many exceptions, I would like to think the majority of us Shinigami are honest when it comes to matters of the law. We are merely telling you the most likely outcome."

"Knowing full well that I _loved_ her", he said in exasperation, arms at his sides. "You said your law doesn't apply to humans, so what's going to stop me from clamming up now?"

"Your own conscience, I should hope", the young one said before his sterner comrade could utter a more dangerous answer. "The name of your contact is a part of the data you offered to give us in return for amnesty."

Matoba looked stunned. "Of course. Twist my arm, right? What happens if I say no?"

"Then your soul will be sentenced for your tampering with forces beyond your comprehension", Yamamoto decreed coldly. "The same fate as all the Spirit Eaters and the three sinful humans responsible for engineering them."

Unable to force back his frustration, he plunked himself down on the other side of the table for the first time, suddenly craving for another smoke despite his earlier fear. "...You'll listen to my context before I give you the name?"

"If you wish", the young one said. "But you should keep in mind that we are currently in a state of war and could be called away to battle at any moment. If that occurs, then you might not get another chance to confess in private like this."

That last bit was mainly for Yamamoto's sake, Matoba recognized. It wasn't exactly a 'good cop-bad cop' routine, just the way they normally were. Certainly more powerful beings than he had been scared by the spiritual pressure of these two focusing on him, threatening to crush him into the ground with the slightest touch. "Alright. I won't be long, I promise."

Now he would even prefer that annoying mod soul for company. Anything but the stifling silence of the room, the two guards now watching intently as he fidgeted and took a deep breath...

* * *

><p>As the daylight waned into the hazy orange of the afternoon, the trail grew cold. But by then, the party no longer required a chain of collateral destruction to guide the way to their destination.<p>

They needed only focus their spiritual senses to detect a wide range of _reiatsu _signatures. Just as well, since the desert they had come to might have looked the same drained or not. Hundreds of drum rock spires ranging from the size of castles to cars dominated the landscape, separated by stretched of sand peppered with smaller rocks jutting up from the horizon.

And in the center of one of those tall drum rocks across a flat span of around three kilometers, Ichigo could just make out the gray metal wall indicating that someone lived there.

"Mayuri Murotsuchi", he said of the biggest, most recognizable of the auras still inside that pillar. Rather, beneath it. There had to be underground levels. "And Yoruichi-san, though she's... very faint."

"Injured", Uryu agreed, sensing the same thing from the hideout across the desolate valley. "Probably used her as a feeding source, just like with Igenari and those Hollows they captured. Wait... I'm picking up two Kurotsuchis. One strong, one weak."

"Are you sure?"

The Quincy made a disgusted face. "I'll never forget the feel of _that _bastard's _reiatsu. _If they drained _his_ spiritrons too, then it's better than he deserves. And I can only pity the Spirit Eater who took so many of his memories on themselves."

"We're not here to save him, yeah?", Reeve noted, idly sharpening his own sword with energy freshly taken from the land converted into fire. "We're here to bust up whatever Zatsua's planning, right boss?"

Ichigo shrugged, not wanting to start a fight among them now of all times. No matter how hated the 12th squad captain was, it still felt wrong to leave him to the mercy of something that could completely devour his soul given enough time. "We'll see. I don't feel anything else yet, but that's no surprise. We won't feel a damn thing until they start attacking. I say we get started now, before that crazy girl shows up and uses _Endecha _to mute us_."_

Nodding as one, his friends turned their attention to summoning any verbal spell or enhancement they could. Sado called out to the twin pink and white arm guards that looked so disturbingly like the claws of a mighty Hollow, both growing far larger and more vicious-looking than Ichigo remembered them. Orihime's spirits flew around the valley, weaving protective orange barriers about them. Uryu's chanting blessed another dozen _Seele Schneider _with newfound power, and the raging fire of Reeve's _Ianzamento_ engulfed his blade without consuming it or burning his own hands- merely the gloves he'd worn so far to prevent accidental contact.

Then it was his turn, holding up his badge to become a God of Death once more, leaving his body behind. He could feel eagerness in the air, not only from his inner Hollow but the more tempered battle lust of _Zangetsu_ as well. Holding both of them back would not be easy in a heated battle, but he hadn't come here expecting anything to be easy.

"BAN...KAI!"

Someone must have been watching them or using some other sense, because the moment they were all ready, the enemy's own presence revealed itself to them. An unfathomably deep shadow blotted out the sun all across the valley, its edges more jagged than the rocks and far more deadly. Within that shadow, hundreds of bipedal beings were resolving themselves into human shapes before gaining simple medieval-grade armour and weapons.

"Princess Adre", Orihime whispered in genuine fear.

"The spoiled brat", Reeve agreed, equally distraught through for very different reasons. "Her Ianzamento is _imagination_. Her own thoughts come to life. I guess the power boost of being here allows everyone to see her knights. And make more of 'em, obviously."

Only two spiritual energy signatures were atop the drum rock that housed the entrance to the bunker. The white-bearded old man and the princess, a study in opposites. The rest, Ichigo figured, would show up once they were already engaged and distracted. _Successive waves to wear us down, just like at Hueco Mundo._

"I see", Uryu noted analytically, preparing the web of blue light that served him as a Quincy bow. Pulling it back, he fired a single test shot at the two figures perched on the high rock only for a tendril of darkness to reach out and engulf its tiny shadow- and the arrow along with it- midway. Changing targets, he focused on the knights and the metal shutters just behind them, the door to Kurotsuchi's hidden workshop. "A straight march, I'd say. Inoue and I keep the army off you while you go after the source. Those things can be still damaged as if they were real, right?"

"Should be", Ichigo noted, though in truth he had no idea. They'd find out soon enough. "You're okay with this?"

It took Inoue a moment to realize he was talking to _her_. "O-of course! We'll do everything we can to keep you guys safe crossing the valley! You can count on us!"

Yet Sado held up a hand, the one covered by the white Hollow claw, _del_ _Diablo. _"Ichigo. Please wait five minutes before you start. I want to try something that may help us."

This was unprecedented from Chad, but he slowly nodded. The burly teen wouldn't have asked for such a delay if he didn't think he could deliver on it. Once he'd run off, the only interesting thing left to look at was the army. While the ranks of see-through knights seemed content to wait blank-eyed in the protective shadow of _O Home Sombra_, it wasn't long before he spotted something else going on in that shuffling of transparent bodies.

"More", Uryu declared in the instant before he would have said the same thing, pointing to a spot where a pike-wielding phantom had just popped into existence. "They're multiplying. The longer we wait, the harder this is going to be."

"We'll wait for Chad", Ichigo affirmed. "Just one more minute."

Another ten knights appeared in that brief space of time, and then Ichigo finally planted one foot down and raised a glimmering Zangetsu into the sun. "Alright. Straight for the spire! Be careful, and cover your backs!"

"Right!", came the answer from three different mouths. As Reeve manifested the great burning blade he'd used on the streets of Naruki, he charged alongside Ichigo directly into the front line of knights with a simultaneous battle cry.

They had not even covered half that distance before other factors came into play. Twin spheres of orange covered them both at Orihime's will, just in time to beat past the closest tendrils of darkness unharmed. Two masses of strangely phantasmal-looking arrows flew from both sides of the valley, only to be intercepted by an equal number of bright blue bolts from their single archer- not one arrow reached the ground. Seeing the deadly shadows around them writhe in frustration, Ichigo forced his gaze away from the trembling ground. Straight ahead.

They did not bleed when struck. He was thankful for that, as he was that Adre's knights could indeed be slain by Zangetsu as well as Reeve's larger flame weapon. A stream of bolts from Uryu added themselves to the mix whenever not blocking the efforts of the hidden phantom archers, and then the first line was down, both men covering each other as they waded through the sea of identical faces and bodies.

The second line died much the same way. Whatever blows their weapons could not block were absorbed by Inoue's barriers, and the shadow covering the valley had not touched them yet. It was only once the third line parted that Ichigo stopped short, Reeve halting his mad dash a second later and staring upwards in bewilderment. "What... the... hell...?"

_Good question. _The fourth and final line had not even tried to fight them, instead losing all cohesion. Not of formation, but form. The transparent bodies had lost all detail and were gelling together into a single large glob of white. By the time the glob had begun to take on details of its own, every single knight alive or fallen had vanished completely.

Neither one of them could quite comprehend what they were looking at until the heads began to emerge from the amorphous body. First came the dragon, a scaled serpent with rows of fangs and red reptilian eyes narrowed to cruel slits. On its left side there was a lion, more familiar but no less fearsome to behold. On the right there came a goat-like demon's head, flashing horns arching back around the house-sized body and certainly capable of goring anyone who got in its way.

Though partly transparent as the knights had been, the thing was a creature straight out of a child's very worst nightmares. And all four of them could tell even before its triplicate roar shook the valley along with Ichigo's teeth that it was just as angry with them as it's creator, Princess Adre Gryuryana.

* * *

><p>AN: Happy New Year everyone! Now is the time when I plan to really put myself to the test, writing multiple fight scenes with multiple combatants in each one. Always tricky getting it to flow smoothly, but you have to try it sometime to progress as a writer and my favourite one here- Magus523, the guy who got me into this- has done a splendid job of it many a time (in fact as I write this he's about to start writing the single biggest conflict he has ever depicted).

As for Revolation's question, I must confess I'm not completely foolproof on the differences between the various spiritual energies, and so I assumed that both Shinigami and their world is composed entirely of Reishi instead of flesh and blood, while Reiatsu depicted as the aura of invisible pressure they put out indicating their strength. Reishi is what gets consumed by a Spirit Eater's touch, and so humans can't die from it even if Shinigami can. Apologies if that was confusing or I got it wrong.


	29. Part 29: The Princess

**Part 29: The Princess**

* * *

><p>"Merged!", came Uryu's voice, once again beating Ichigo to the punch with a single describing word for what had appeared before them. "I'll take the snake head!"<p>

"_Idiot_!", Ichigo barked back, already angling his sword toward the lion head despite his words. They could discuss who was really in charge after they killed this thing "No, I can just cut the snake head off with my Zanpakuto! Uryu, focus on the lion- WHOA!"

This thing was _fast. _Or at least the snake head was, lashing down and biting into his blade even as he dodged back, trying to tear it from his hands. It twisted and writhed grotesquely, arm-length fangs preventing the blade from getting any momentum while the other two heads acted to prevent Reeve and Uryu from helping, the goat head deflecting the burning sword with horns that looked even stronger now that they were this close, and the lion unleashing a energy blast from its mouth to counter every arrow the living shadow surrounding them didn't already block.

And it was the living shadow which would eventually kill them, Ichigo realized in a slowly-growing panic. The orange barriers around Reeve and himself could ward off a thousand bladed tendrils of darkness, but a few good hits from those heads would knock them down completely. _Then_ they'd be eviscerated from every possible direction, with no chance to survive. Even as he watched, a fraction of spikes went shooting out for Uryu across the valley, forcing Inoue to put down a third shining barrier around him, dividing her concentration even further. Grunting angrily, he forced his arms upward and wrenched Zangetsu out of the serpent's maw.

"No time for playing around!", he grunted, batting aside a charge by the goat head and leaping away from the serpent's next lunge just in time. "GETSUGAAA-"

The lion's head had suddenly stopped shooting at Uryu to focus on him, forcing him to leap back yet again. _Stupid! This isn't just a dumb beast. A human mind is directing its actions, even if it's a very young human mind. It's a... dream-beast. _Sure enough he could see both of them from here, the girl in her ball gown and the old man in his green jacket wordlessly directing their Ianzamentosfrom the top of the spire. "-And I am getting_ really_ damn sick of all my attacks getting interrupted like that!"

"Then perhaps you shouldn't make them so long to say, young man", Barton Eishinchi offered from high above as if merely dispensing friendly advice to them. "_Anyone_ could take advantage of such a huge opening. You should consider yourself lucky that miss Yui hasn't shut down that option entirely yet."

"You'll excuse us if we don't climb on up there to thank ya for that, old fart", Reeve scowled, mirroring Ichigo's own irritation. He'd scored a few grazing hits on the side heads, but neither one burned as well as a real animal would have. Any attempt at conjuring fireballs like the kind he'd attacked the train with was met with the lion head's own breath projectile. "We're a little busy here, yeah?"

"Hm. By all means", Barton shrugged, pressing his cane into the dirt as he leaned closer, devoid of threat in his words despite their meaning. "I _do_ hope you realize what you're getting yourself into here, Mr. Pastell. The Shinigami aren't exactly known for their mercy towards defectors. Why else do you think I haven't joined with you?"

"Not too late- AH!", the younger Spirit Eater grunted back, trying to leap up and strike the lion head only for the serpent to slip itself around his leg, its mouth opening wide to try and finish it with one bite and only the sword of fire keeping it at bay. "My main man Ichigo here can set things straight with the Soul Society bigwigs if ya give yourself up. Won't ya boss?"

"Not the time, idiot!" Leaping up himself, Ichigo slashed down into hard scales and was content to see the snake writhe and pull back to the main body, his partner's life saved for the moment. "Try paying attention to the fight for once!"

"Got it! Yeesh!"

"Doesn't matter anyway", Barton remarked dejectedly. "My purpose is nearly done. My _destiny_ is nearly done, and I can't turn back now. _O Home Sombra _still wants a fight- even if I left it would continue to assault you."

Beside him Adre looked equally hurt, or perhaps that was just concentration on the three-headed beast's movements, but no less willing to give up, sticking out her tongue at the two as they fought. "Yeah! Go away, stupid Shinigami! You're mean! No one likes you!"

Ichigo might have rolled his eyes if he'd had time. As it was, he calmly reached up and donned the fearsome jawed bone mask of his Inner Hollow, also working to ignore _that_ being's high-pitched voice in his head, the one which had just advised him to fire a fully-charged Getsuga Tensho directly at the old man and the princess instead of her pet, killing them both in agony.

_No. They're humans. It would probably just get blocked anyway. Or worse, absorbed..._

With this enhancement bolstering reflexes and strength, he could finally keep up with all three heads at once. The same could not be said for Reeve, who took a high leap towards the spire as if on the same wavelength as Ichigo, flaming sword in hand, only for the three-headed beast to unleash another blast from the lion head and smack him back down just in time for the goat's head to charge, shrieking terribly. More arrows from Uryu flew clanging off fur and fang, but the creature ignored the pain for the moment and _struck_.

Without Orihime's protective barrier, Reeve would have been completely run through by those horns. To Ichigo's newly-yellowed eyes they seemed to have gotten longer since they started, yet another effect of Adre's imagination, as sharp as any sword but still unable to penetrate. Instead that head merely slid back with a muffled howl, and then the orange protection surrounding their newest ally began to shatter into a thousand tiny pieces.

"Damn!"

Once again Ichigo's will conflicted with that of his Inner Hollow, making him hesitate for a fatal moment. The latter wanted to take the opening to strike a death blow to the beast, but the former could not just leave a companion to die like that. Even one he didn't particularly like. Already the shadow surrounding them had begun to close in on the white-haired teen, no longer barred by Inoue's power.

So he moved, the combined swiftness of Hollow and Shinigami getting him over to the body in a breath. _His_ barrier held, a thousand dark appendages bouncing off and waving back and forth in frustration. Reeve was safe. Both of them were... except now he couldn't move away from that spot.

Then the dream-beast was on them again, and Ichigo could only concentrate on dodging and blocking, and unable to do very much of the first one. "INOUE!", he screamed through the mask, desperation overriding his manners. "Another barrier! NOW!"

To his relief, she'd heard him over the growing din of the fight and wasted no time. Inoue's strange snowflake-shaped hair decs flew out over the valley towards them to renew Reeve's barrier, flickered with spiritual energy-

And were suddenly _gone_. Swallowed up by the field of darkness separating them. "NO! ICHIGO!", she shouted in absolute terror.

The realization slowed him down almost fatally, no matter how hard he tried to fight it. Of course those hair decs cast tiny shadows of their own. Of _course_ Barton's power could intercept them even as it continued to prod at Ichigo's barrier and stretch its deadly bladed grasp towards Uryu and Orihime. In just a bit longer, Adre's dream-beast would slam into that barrier one too many times. It would break, and they would both die there.

_Damn... is this it? _

He hadn't even _seen_ Tatsuki. That, above all else, was the dark thought that nearly brought him to his knees even as his sword arm continued to work at a frantic pace to buy him a few more seconds of precious life. All of this preparation, their sacrifices, their alliance for the sole purpose of saving their friend, and now they couldn't even _get_ to her.

_NO. Not happening. I saved Rukia, I saved Orihime, I WILL-_

Now _O Home Sombra_ seemed to have covered them already, impatient to get on with the finale as it completely blocked out the light of the sun, along with Ichigo's hope-

_Wait. That's not O Home Sombra. That's-_

He leaped, carrying Reeve's body and avoiding the dream-beast's lunge. _That's a different shadow!_

A second later, the new shadow's owner impacted the ground next to them. And it was big. Very big. It felt like a small earthquake, kicking up enough dust to partially hide it along with sight of Adre's dream-beast, presumably along with her sight of them. Which was good, because for the next few breaths, Ichigo could not take his eyes off the new arrival.

It was one of the drum rocks, the strange mountains that had littered the valley like spikes on an enormous cactus. Small for mountains, but larger by far than any of them. Larger than the dream-beast. Big enough to crush buildings under without a trace. Someone had thrown it into the air, allowed it to come down directly in the middle of the battle plain. Now it cast its own shadow across the valley, the angle of the sun blocking out _O Home Sombra _in their general area, at least for the time being.

'Someone'. He smiled knowingly, eyes nearly shut even though his mask was protecting them from the dust. "...Good job, Sado-kun."

His friend was still too far away to hear that of course, but the sudden flare of his spiritual pressure was all the signal he needed. The pillar was on its side, almost completely blocking the valley along with their sight of Uryu and Inoue, something he found distressing... but now he could _do_ something about the people who had been causing them so much trouble. He dropped Reeve- could afford to now that they weren't constantly under attack- and raised Zangetsu high. "NOW! GETSUGAAAA TENSHOOO!"

He hadn't been aiming at the dream-beast. Between the dust storm Chad's attack had kicked up and the creature's partial transparency he still couldn't quite make it out. It was either luck or direction from Adre that put it directly in the path of the black wave as it sped along the ground, crushing everything in its path, ripping through the beast and stopping just shy of the metal shutter.

The creature fell apart, dying with three howls of varied but equally agonized pitch, and Ichigo looked up again, seeing the way their two opponents had been nearly knocked over by the sheer force of the attack that had not even properly hit them.

"Care to reconsider that surrender, old man?!"

"Hardly", Barton said simply through a curtain of dust, nodding towards the massive stone pillar and the way it was holding his own shadow pinned to the ground. "You can't stop O Home Sombrathat way for long. Princess Adre's power will keep us both safe in the meantime. In just a few minutes he'll eat through that pillar, and then... and then... oh dear."

Ichigo followed his frightened gaze upwards, then cursed and dropped to the ground. The _second_ rock pillar, though smaller, was even messier than the first, striking the top of the spire and sending debris flying everywhere, both the Spirit Eaters disappearing in a cloud of destruction. For what felt like a long white he did nothing but dodge, occasionally deflecting a rock that would have brained Reeve or himself. Only once it was over did he look back at the ruined spire and search it for signs of life.

"You said a few minutes", he called hopefully into the billowing dust. "You have that long to give up. I don't want to kill something that's so close to a human soul, but I _will._"

_Hah! You pathetic liar. You don't have the guts to kill a human! Wimp!_

_Maybe_, he thought back in irritation at his Hollow's annoying high-pitched voice. _But _they_ don't know that. _"Thirty seconds, old man! Either get down on the ground or step aside and let us pass! You too, princess!"

The dust had caked his mask, and he actually found himself coughing as he waited for it to settle, for his time limit to expire. _Messy, but effective. I knew Sado was strong with those upgraded arms, I just didn't know _how _strong until now. _"Ten seconds! Nine! Eight! Seven! Si-"

An invisible wall sent him sprawling away from Reeve. By the time he'd stood up again, the dust had finally gone and he could see his assailant. "Oh."

Barton was down. His cane was lying on the ground meters away, and it looked like he'd taken the worst of the fall, kneeling on the ground and unable to fight back.

It was Adre who had struck him. It was Adre who had generated the new creature towering over them, an armoured knight nearly the size of Sajin Komamura's _Bankai_ giant, its sword edge wider and longer than Ichigo's entire body. Transparent as the previous dream-beast had been, but no less dangerous for it.

He stared up and up and up, his Hollow mask hiding his emotions save what could be seen in the yellow eyes. All he could think to say was "Oh".

Adre gestured in abject fury, and the building-sized blade flew down at him...

* * *

><p>"That's it", Matoba finished just as he'd started- with a deep breath, though this one remained tinged with a great deal more regret. "That's everything that happened to me. To both of us."<p>

Both the captains had taken his story in calmly, never once interrupting or asking for clarification. He wasn't sure how long they'd been there, listening to him reveal all the secrets he would just as soon have forgotten. It felt like days had gone by, and his throat was parched.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Arisawa-san", the long white-haired one spoke up after a moment. "I realize this can't have been easy for you."

"No", he agreed, too tired and frightened for humour. "It wasn't. What... what will happen to Yoruichi now?"

The ancient one shook his head, sunlight gleaning off the scars crossing his forehead. "That is a matter for the Central 46 to decide. We merely present the evidence of the crime to them, for them to interpret."

Not what he'd wanted to hear. Despite growing fatigue, Matoba stepped forward and forced himself to look into Yamamoto's withered-looking eyes despite the impossible willpower behind them. "I hope I remembered to mention that she was there on a mission _for you_. To stop humanity from destroying itself with nuclear weapons."

"You mentioned that fact several times", Ukitake assured him soothingly. "Central 46 will know of that as well- they are the ones who originally authorized that mission to interfere with the human world."

"That is not the crime", his aged colleague seconded. "Yoruichi Shihoin's crime is revealing crucial Shinigami secrets to a human. To multiple humans."

"She had no _choice_!", Matoba spat in exasperation. "They had a goddamn gun to my head!"

"Then she should have allowed you to die, Arisawa." The word were not cruel at all, completely matter-of-fact, and Matoba hated that. It would be so much easier, so simple to hate the head captain if he was more smug about this. "Harsh as it may sound, we cannot risk the veil of secrecy between our worlds over the life of one human, not if it is one human threatening another. We are the gatekeepers to the world of the dead, not the living."

Just as he'd known it would, his furious gaze crumbled first before the head captain's scars and red-eyed gaze. These were transmortal beings that stared death in the face every day, who were the Gods of death. They could not be bullied or cajoled, or even pleaded with. He felt hot tears welling up in his eyes.

"I know. I _know_. I should not have lived. If I'd died back then, none of this craziness would've happened. My niece Tatsuki would be safe and sound back in Karakura town none the wiser, and you wouldn't be having to defend your homes against living weapons specifically designed to destroy Shinigami. But..."

Doubtless Yamamoto was expecting more demands for compassion from the look in his shrewd eyes, though Ukitake still seemed willing to listen to his blubbering. "...But. You Shinigami have lived so much longer than I have. There's a lot that I don't know about your people... but you _can't_ say that you've never done something foolish like this. Not if you were ever in love with someone!"

This wasn't quite the winning hand he'd wanted it to be, but neither one of them showed complete scorn for his rash words either. "I understand your position", Ukitake noted, trying to smile reassuringly at him. "It's for the best if you don't worry yourself about it too much. Ex-captain Shihoin knew the price of disobeying orders... it's not the first time that she's been charged with a serious crime, and she survived the first time."

"Through exile", Matoba noted grumpily. "Or so I've heard."

"Through exile", Ukitake repeated grimly. "You have heard our head captain's words of this matter, but we- _I _will make sure to mention that previous sentencing, even if the crime is not quite the same as the one she'd been previously found guilty of based on false evidence a century ago."

Small reassurance. But Matoba nodded weakly back at him, recognizing the effort being put forth on his part. Exile? The former stealth squad commander had already lived for decades in exile, a wanderer only connected to a handful of allies. "T...thank you for your mercy, Shinigami. I suppose I should be going now."

When he left the room, the guards went with him. It felt like an eternity until one of them decided on a way to break the tension. "He _was_ completely cooperative, taicho. His story checks out. And he is right- many Shinigami have made rash decisions in the past when someone we cared about was in danger."

As expected, Yamamoto looked vaguely disappointed by his colleague's compassion, red eyes narrowed in disapproval and voice filled with mighty authority. "We may never know. I can only pray to the Spirit King that not all of us would be so weak as to be willing to betray our entire civilization for the life of one person they become attached to."

"She couldn't have known it would go this fa-"

"_Silence_." Though the head captain's reproach was as powerful and biting as ever, he didn't look to be angry at Shihoin or Ukitake. Kneeling down once more, he stared into his ancient, creased hands, staring past the skin and at the mighty surging power beneath, looking strangely melacholy. "He knew what we are. He showed us fear no human should ever have to display towards us. A single human can come to terms with our existence and duties, and learn to coexist, yes?"

Now Ukitake just felt confused. Had they traded places without him knowing? This kind of argument was the last one he'd expected the staunchly traditionalist head captain Yamamoto to make. He knelt down opposite his old master and father, mirroring him and figuring it couldn't hurt to play opposite roles for once.

"True, but we could never reveal ourselves to human society as a whole. Humans like Ichigo Kurosaki and his human friends are exceptional people, far more accepting than most. As cynical as it sounds, a great majority of the humans are more like Jutani Zatsua or that Frigeld Han person Hitsugaya-taicho fought in the world of the living. Paranoid. Superstitious. Illogical. Easily led by false convictions into hatred. They could never accept having Shingami protecting their souls without permission."

"Naturally. If the humans knew of us, our missions to their worlds would become impossible. The law forbids contact for a reason."

The elder captain shifted uncomfortably, and Ukitake went very still. "It's alright, master. I know your wisdom. Whatever you want to say to me is worth considering."

Yamamoto's eyes widened, suddenly looking a bit less tired. He gave a dry chuckle. "...I appreciate that. You and Shunsui, my sons, and all of the others... You do me proud... most of the time, hmhmhmhm. For a long time have I dwelled on how things have changed in the world of the living since I first formed the Gotei 13 to defend our way of life."

"Humanity has changed a great deal in the past centuries", he agreed gently. "Not only cultural attitudes, but in morals and social traditions. It was not so long ago that they forbade their women to participate in the greater multitude of physically-taxing jobs, though it seemed silly to us at the time."

"A century ago", his master mused, his eyes unreadable slits, "would a remarkable human such as Kurosaki Ichigo have even existed? Or would any attempted Substitute Shinigami let their primeval fear rule them and turn on us, believing us to be evil? Why has the number of spiritually-sensitive humans increased so much in just the past fifty years, allowing them to see us, even interact with us? Is there a message here that we are blind to?"

Ukitake frowned. "We know the reason for Karakura Town, master. The same reason that so many Hollows and other ghosts are always attracted to it. It is the site of your greatest victory-"

His master held up a hand, speaking softly. "There is no need for flattery, now- I was not alone in that victory. More concerning to me is the emergence of similar humans in other lands." Staring into the sunlight in search of answers, he stroked his beard in contemplation. "I am no longer as foolishly overconfident as when I formed this organization as a youngster. I can no longer trust myself to comprehend the divine will of the Spirit King, if that is indeed His influence. From now on, I dare only place my faith in the laws of the world we swore to defend, and to purge our ranks of future threats no matter the situation. I know of no other life, and shall stay to my path 'till the end."

Even if he did not grasp all the intended implications of that declaration- for his master had always been cryptic and full of unspoken concerns in his speech- its tone remained dangerously clear to him. For once, the head captain sounded _resigned_. Weary, even.

With the utmost caution, he raised one arm to the man's shoulder, the most base effort to comfort him but the only one he could think of at the moment to restore his confidence. "Master. None of this was due to faults in your leadership. No one could have done it any better. The recent traitors chose their paths based on hatred for us over misunderstandings and old grudges, refusing to see the bigger picture. If the other captains were here now, they would say the same thing."

Having no talent for deception or flattery, Ukitake meant every word. While he could not deny the recent chains of events could possibly be the hint that they'd displeased the world somehow and were thus slated for destruction from within, it could just as well be a dozen other factors. And regardless, their services in banishing souls were still needed in the world of the living, would be defended to their dying breath.

"Correct, of course", Yamamoto sighed, rising at last. "Tradition and honour is a far more powerful force than any Shinigami or Hollow. I must make my report on Shihoin's crimes alone now. You... go rescue the Matoba human."

His friend raised a pale eyebrow. "Rescue? You foresaw an attack on him?"

"No." The old man gave a wily laugh, shaking himself free of depression. "I merely recognized his mood. A man like that resorts to his reliable vices when faced with a crisis such as this. And since he has just used the last of the tobacco plant he brought from the human world..."

Without even realizing it, Ukitake felt himself placing one palm to his forehead in exasperation. "...He'll ask for one of our pipes to smoke on. Not realizing that ours is many magnitudes stronger than anything meant for humans. Yes taicho, I'll go right away."

* * *

><p>When the massive rush of air not unlike the winds he'd experienced in the upper atmosphere of Soul Society suddenly cut off, Ichigo dared raise his head from behind Zangetsu and knew he wasn't dead.<p>

Not even close, in fact. The limber Shinigami woman standing before him, holding the massive blade back with only her bare hands as the braided tails of her blue hair dangled down, must have been waiting for just this moment to zip in and interfere and make him look dependent.

"You're a fool, Kurosaki Ichigo", 2nd squad captain Soifon gritted out, the strain of holding back Adre's latest dream-beast competing with her natural disdain for him. "How do you expect to defeat an enemy who will not surrender, when you're not willing to kill them? You've only dragged your friends into a fight that your lack of conviction makes impossible to win! Pathetic!"

To punctuate that statement, she grunted and pressed upwards further, cratering the earth beneath her feet until the sword was finally pushed back altogether... and with a souvenir. From this distance it was hard to make out, but Ichigo could certainly spot the outline of some kind of shining symbol on the sword, flashing like a fresh brand where Soifon had braced it. He knew it well. A butterfly...

The sounds ringing out above their heads after that was not the captain's deadly follow-up strike, but another familiar face laying into the colossal knight with a spiked chain ball nearly as oversized as the creature's own weapon. Suitable for the massive portly man who wielded it, a massive silhouette laughing heartily as he descended from the sky. "Ya-HAAAA! TAKE THIS, YOU CRETIN!"

There was a crashing noise, and the giant roared. In the sunlight he couldn't quite make out the details, but it wasn't hard to figure when the black-haired man landed squarely in front of his captain. While normally his puggish features combined with his girth made him look oafish and rude, in this case a child's joy had gripped him and he nearly dropped his Zanpakuto in glee. "Yeahhh! That'll show you not to mess with Marechiyo Yoshiayamenosuke Nikkotaroemon-"

His gloating turned into howling as Soifon gripped his ear from behind. "_Enough_, Omaeda. You were supposed to attack the enemy at the source, not at this pitiful illusion. I should have figured you couldn't even handle such a simple task."

"Your lieutenant", Ichigo grumbled from behind them, trying to regain his vigor. "I guess the whole squad's here too?"

Soifon remained cold, refusing even to turn around. While they had never clashed directly, Yoruichi had told him enough about her former disciple that he wasn't offended by it. "...Correct. The others are creating a perimeter. We have come to eliminate the enemy presence. And to arrest _you_, Kurosaki Ichigo. For too long has your disobedience gone unchecked- now it has nearly cost innocent humans their lives."

He couldn't help but sigh. He had figured from the start that the Seritei's leaders might react this way to his plan. _Can't afford to get tangled up with 'em right now though. Tatsuki's still waiting. I owe everyone who followed me here not to quit now, not that I ever would. _"Heh... Yorichi-san really was right about you all along. Still can't drop the stick, can you? You couldn't even learn that from your master?"

The captain's backhand was automatic, but expected. He needed to see it, to see if his speed was even close to a match for the supposed 'master assassin' of the Soul Society. Fortunately, with Tensa Zangetsu still in his hand, it became merely a glancing blow. _Good. She's still not quite as fast as Yoruichi is. If I keep my head, I can keep up with her._

"Hey! Don't insult the captain, runt!", Omaeda growled over at him. "Way we saw it, you guys were gonna get killed anyway. You peasants should be thanking us, on bent knee!"

"_Omaeda_", Soifon murmured as sharp as before. "The matter at hand first. The rest of the squad have orders only to create a perimeter. Or can I not trust you with defeating a mere child?"

The massive man stumbled back from the rebuke but set his jaw, glaring up at the knight which was still over four times his own height. "Uh, right! Right! Just sit back, Taicho! I'll handle this fatso!"

_Which leaves her to monitor me, make sure I don't go anywhere_, Ichigo guessed. Despite her apparent youth, the assassin leader wouldn't just leave him an opening to run away even if he'd wanted to.

In any case, it gave him a moment to look around. For several whole minutes he'd forgotten to worry about his friends who had accompanied him to this battle, and he wasn't quite sure whether to be ashamed or proud about that. He could feel Chad, Uryu and Inoue's energy signatures as they worked their way around the massive stone column to meet up with him. Reeve on the other hand had begun to stir over to his right, his hair a dusty mess. "Ungh... somebody tell that bus to get back here and face the music-HUH? What's goin' on here, boss?"

"The 2nd squad showed up to arrest us", Ichigo pointed out plainly, trying not to show any amusement or righteous anger at _that_ presumption. "They think they can handle the Spirit Eaters by themselves."

Again the strike came fast as lightning and again he only barely dodged. "Look, captain. I appreciate the help, but I came here to save one of my friends, _not_ to watch your people kill her."

"That", Soifon replied bitterly, staring off into the sun, "is not your call to make, Kurosaki. These creatures are a grave threat to our world and everything we stand for. They cannot be allowed to live. Would you have us spare a Hollow merely because you became 'friends' with it?"

He decided now was not a good time to talk about Nel. "Not even close to the same thing. Tatsuki was my best friend long before... before _whatever_ this is happened to her. I've known her my whole life. All I want to do is talk to her, and make her see reason."

But the captain's mouth remained set in a firm line. "Denied. Our orders are clear. Not only have you interfered here, but already you have violently liberated one of our own prisoners." Shifting away slightly from Omaeda's battle, Soifon eyed Reeve sternly. "That would be _you_ I assume, Spirit Eater. Your spiritual pressure is a near copy of Kurosaki's, only weaker. You will be executed here, along with the rest of your kind."

He could see how Reeve's sharp eyes froze at that sudden sentencing. Certainly the normally-cocky Spirit Eater knew how outclassed he was here, and he could no longer be certain that his 'boss' would save him from death this time.

Stepping back, he did not even bother summoning the burning sword that had become his trademark weapon, instead throwing up his hands in fear. "H-hey. Hey now, I don't want any trouble, yeah? I jus' came along to help Ichigo stop these guys! I've, uh, seen the light and all that, yeah? I swear pretty lady if you let me live, I'll just go back home to Naruki city and never bother anyone, okay?"

Ichigo groaned quietly, tensing for what he knew would happen next; Soifon raising the dagger-shaped golden nail on her finger. Despite its puny size compared to a sword-type Zanpakuto, _Suzumebachi_ could instantly kill with a mere two strikes in the same location. With the blue-haired woman's incredible speed, those hits could happen in seconds. "_Don't_", he insisted, raising his own weapon and trying to predict her lunge. _Really, really, REALLY don't want to do this...! _"That man swore loyalty to me. He's my...", he trailed off, not quite able to choke out the word 'servant', "...ally. He knows things about the Spirit Eaters no Shinigami does."

It had been mainly intended as a delaying measure, but he was surprised to see the assassin's gray eyes widen in a hint of compassion. "Unfortunately, Kurosaki, that's yet another reason to eliminate him. I've read the reports. You fought him before, when he attacked a train full of innocent people. At the slightest chance, this toad can drain the _reiatsu_ of a Shinigami through direct skin contact, and use their own powers and knowledge against them. I will _not_ let that happen."

Too late. Given a few more seconds of talk he might have been in a better position to leap between the two and start a proper duel against the master assassin- one he'd been dreading since her arrival but not one he had thought impossible to win. Instead Soifon had simply lunged the moment the last word left her mouth, the deadly spike of gold descending in a blur towards Reeve's neck before he could even cry out-

And flew back with a shocked cry, shoulder sizzling from where it had rammed into the orange barrier suddenly blocking her.

"Inoue", Ichigo breathed in relief. He could feel her concentrated resolve, just as he could feel Reeve's completely relief that Death had given him a pass-over... and feel Soifon's anger at being denied. "Thank you."

Stepping out from behind the small outcropping, Orihime smiled shyly and nodded, Chad walking up behind her equally firm in their goal, carrying something on his back. "Please! There's no need to kill someone. Not ever. At least, that is what I believe!"

The young Spirit Eater seemed just as shocked as his would-be killer, slowly getting himself up off the ground, his green street jacket still smoking, only able to nod back with terrified eyes. "Th... thanks girly. I really... I mean, wow..."

"It's fine", she replied, eyes shining bright in that way only hers could. Though not nearly as innocent as Ichigo had known them to be before he'd become a Shinigami, she remained to this day the closest thing to an 'innocent' he had ever known. "Everyone makes mistakes. You've made some big ones, Reeve-san... but I don't believe you should be killed. You're still a human."

"All evidence to the contrary", he chuckled, still at a loss as to how to repay that favour. For a moment Ichigo saw him start to try and take her hand, then quickly remembered what would happen and drew his hand back. "...Sorry. Almost forgot."

"I'll bet", Ichigo called, removing the mask and shaking his head. "Where's Uryu?"

"Catching up", Chad explained briskly. He understood as well as the rest that the fight wouldn't just stop while they got sentimental. "You know how he is around Shinigami who aren't you."

"Do I ever." Just as the young Quincy would never completely drop his grudge towards the Soul Society which had decimated his people, neither would Soifon let him participate any more than she would tolerate Reeve's existence. _Can't beat her and Adre at the same time... just hope that Omaeda can keep her busy a bit longer while we decide how to finish this without anyone getting killed._

"The stone pillars I dropped", Chad reminded him, dropping his cargo and stepping up beside him so that they formed a protective line between the other two and the other battles going on. "They won't last forever- I saw the shadow chewing through them as we went around on the other side."

That didn't exactly help his concentration. Soifon was out there too. He could feel her pressure, waiting for the chance to kill the Spirit Eaters and immobilize the rest of them. Just his luck that she chose to focus on them first.

"Well, boss?" Even Reeve sounded concerned. "Time for us to play our trump card, yeah?"

"No. Not yet." The last thing he wanted was to draw more attention to them, give the Gotei 13 even more reason to fear him. "Not until we're up against someonereally dangerous."

"Oh", the young man rolled his eyes. "Oh yes. Someone really dangerous. Because clearly these people aren't dangerous at all."

"I've seen worse than this", Ichigo assured him even as his eyes tried to make out some sign of Soifon's attack. "You ought to know- you've still got all my memories don't you?"

"Point. What're we gonna do now?"

"Not dying would be a good start." Continuing to search for signs of an attack, he finally caught a glimpse of Chad's cargo on the ground- his own body, looking just a bit disturbing with blank eyes and no Mod Soul to control it. "Ah, damn. Forgot about that. I guess Kon ran off as soon as he could, right?"

"Probably", Chad acknowledged, not sounding smug at all. "I saw it lying there. The shadow was coming for it."

Which meant his friend had probably just saved him from being stuck as a Shinigami for the rest of his life due to his own carelessness. "Wow. Thanks. Sorry, Sado. I can't believe I really forgot that! I must be..." _Getting too used to being a Shinigami instead of a human? Or just stupid? _For once, it wasn't his Hollow insulting him for his mistake.

The shame and embarrassment wasn't enough to stop him from catching the strike when it finally came however. The thin blade of Suzumebachi lunged for the barrier, only to be knocked aside and nearly hit Ichigo instead before its wielder fell back. "Enough! Stand aside or die!"

Blood thundered through his head in outrage over that threat. He forced himself to ignore it, merely summoning his mask once more. "Really, captain Soifon? Would you really kill two humans to complete your objective? I don't think so. You're bluffing."

The assassin looked dour, readying her other arm for more conventional attacks. "Then let me rephrase. Stand aside, or I'll kill _Ichigo_. My orders allow me to do that. You might get lucky and stop me once or twice, but you can't do it forever. I _will_ kill you, Kurosaki. I'm too fast for any of you to stop."

"This isn't what your master would want", he tried imploringly, gripping Zangetsu. "She would know to focus on the real threat here!"

"Oh?" She looked even more insulted, if possible. "What is this pathetic self-absorbed _arrogance_ that would make you think you know Yoruichi-sama's thoughts so well?"

"The fact that she's _here_", Chad shocked everyone by shouting back at her. He shifted left, past the protective field, gestured to the shutters with one arm, leaving himself completely open to attack and not caring, trusting to the belief that a Shinigami would never willingly harm a human like him. "She's in there! She's one of the people that we came to rescue! If you just open your senses, you'll know the truth!"

"Dude, no!", he could hear Reeve calling intermixed with Inoue's own frenzied cry of protest: "She'll kill you!"

But Soifon did not strike at the helpless target. She did not need to look at the shutter to realize that Chad spoke the truth. For one brief moment a luminescent blush came to the assassin's cheeks, then she was all business again. "...Very well. For the time being, saving Yoruichi-sama from the enemy's grasp takes priority over my current mission. But when it is done, none of you will receive any mercy from me no matter what she says."

On cue, a massive flying object flew between them and slammed headfirst into the fallen pillar, damaging it further. Lieutenant Omaeda looked dazed, but still aware enough to see the irritation on his master's face. "S... sorry captainnn..."

"One down", Ichigo noted, more to get Soifon's attention than any desire for comedy- the giant knight looked to have only grown taller and stronger in response to the massive Shinigami attacking it, and was now poised to crush them with one great swing. "Think you've got what it takes, or do you need a hand?"

Any laugh from the captain was a surprise, though this one was purely dismissive of his concern. "Again you insult me. Only I have both the skill and the resolve to deal with these abominations properly. You may continue on... but if you fail to save Yoruichi-sama, I'll never forgive you."

They didn't need to be told twice. All four of them waited until Soifon had leapt up to block the enemy's sword with Suzumebachi, then dashed for the shutter without interference, until-

"Inoue", he called to her, seeing her pace suddenly slow when they were nearly there. "What's wrong?"

"Adre", came the simple reply. "I can't let her kill Adre. Barton either, really. Can we just let them die?"

Following her gaze, he looked back. Neither one of them seemed to be in danger yet, but Soifon was a much better fighter than her lieutenant- she had already struck the butterfly mark she had left on the knight's sword on her arrival, causing it to scream in silent terror for a moment before shattering like glass.

"...Then you stay", he decided grudgingly, holding her by the shoulders. _I don't like wagering her life on a Shinigami's honour, but there's no choice. Soifon and Omaeda will protect her. _"You can save them. You can save Soifon and Omaeda too if things get bad. Just promise me that you'll run if you're in danger, alright? Promise?"

"Promise", she nodded back, her voice firm. For the first time, she was able to look into the fierce eyes of that mask without flinching. "I'll catch up. That's another promise. And you..."

"Be safe", he finished for her, feeling a smile coming on and facing away. "Always."

Then, just when it seemed that moment would be frozen forever in time, a cry of surprise from behind them broke the spell- Adre's giant knight hadn't truly died. It had just turned back into the three knights who had been the princess' weapons from the very start. Orihime knew their names, but he did not have time to ask her what they were.

There was only what lay ahead of him. And to delay that meeting any longer would risk losing the will to come to it at all.

* * *

><p>AN: Dry? Hm, well maybe this chapter will be more to your liking. This was originally going to carry on a bit longer but I found I couldn't find a way to make a cliffhanger ending for either of the 'parties' quickly.


	30. Part 30: The Shadow Man

**Disc: **Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.

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><p><strong>Part 30: The Shadow Man<strong>

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><p>The shutters had been damaged in the fighting, but still slammed shut on the three of them in a way that had to be intentional once they'd gotten inside Mayuri Kurotsuchi's hidden lab in the mountain. Leaving them in complete darkness until Reeve sparked a fireball into existence in his hand, lighting their way forward.<p>

"Down", Ichigo guessed immediately. "Yoruichi's spiritual pressure is down from here. We just have to follow it."

All three of them sprinted, Chad soon taking the lead despite still having to carry Ichigo's human body along on his back. For once it didn't feel right to make any small talk as they ran, instead merely focusing on the task at hand. Any talk now would just make him second-guess himself.

When the first sign of opposition came, it was nearly a relief. By then Ichigo had long grown tired of running down dank corridors and endlessly rehearsing his words- _probably won't do me any good anyway. I'm not a good speaker._

It was another loud shutter that tipped them off, this time two gates closing from opposite sides, trapping them in a round chamber with machinery tucked away in the four corners, and two more large gates along the other walls. _An arena_, Ichigo couldn't help but think. _They know we're here. _"Chad."

That was all the instruction he needed. Dropping the body, his friend brought forth the twin arm carapaces of white and black and began to wail on the far gate with all his strength, joined shortly by Reeve's fire sword. Neither showed much signs of damage, and before long a high hissing noise stopped them, caused both to search the room for some trap.

But it didn't last long. There was no sign of any threat, not until the voice came to them from the far corner and turned Ichigo's mind to stone.

"It's one of Mayuri's traps. Activated by the spiritual energy signature of anyone that isn't him. If it weren't for Lanis, poison gas would've filled this room by now."

He couldn't bear to look. Reeve and Chad had already turned around and gaped at their new arrival, but for some reason facing the source of that voice was every bit as difficult- if not more- than deciding to begin this crazy mission in the first place.

All he could see was the white karate dogi, resized since they were kids but mostly made of the same material with black gloves added for obvious reasons. The same material that Tatsuki Arisawa had worn when he'd made him cry for the first time when they'd sparred.

And here he was, crying again.

He wished he'd brought his. That might have actually made this feel a bit more familiar, maybe a little easier. On the surface, she didn't actually look much different. Still so strong and independent and hopeful, brown eyes focused as if daring someone to try and bully someone she cared about. The longer locks of blue hair hanging down past her shoulders did little to tarnish her tomboy image, perhaps making her a little older-looking. Still the same person. For that, he was grateful.

What to say? Where to even begin? She had already stepped out of the shadows of the room, into the center dais where the Lanis person she'd been talking about had obligingly turned on a handful of ceiling lights, creating a beam of illumination leaving everything but Tatsuki and Ichigo in black, casting multiple shadows across the room as they began to move closer to each other.

"I _don't _hate you", she blurted, and he realized she must have been just as nervous, clutching at her tattoo as if it was causing her pain. "This might look like I deliberately asked to fight you first, but it's not because I hate you."

"Then don't", he whispered, pleading. The more he talked, the easier it would be. "Don't do this, Tatsuki. We can get you help. There's _got_ to be a cure for this. We can get Zatsua-"

"That's not happening", she interrupted in profound sadness, watching the lights reflecting off the floor between them. "Lanis won't ever let you reach her, even if I just gave up now and let you through. He's already drained that Mayuri creep. He has most of his knowledge of how to control all the computer systems in this place. Those doors _aren't_ opening until we're done here."

"It's only reinforced titanium, Ichigo", Chad called out to him, stepping away from the door and winding up. Orders or not, he wanted to save Tatsuki just as much as any of them, and he wouldn't do that by pounding on a shutter. "We can break it in about five minutes."

"There", he nodded back. He didn't have the heart to give his friend instructions whether to pound on the gate or watch them now. "You see? In a few minutes we'll be out of here. You can come with us, we can free Yoruichi-san, bring down the rest of the Spirit Eaters, and then..."

"No."

Now he had to force his gaze into hers, never leaving it. He spread his arms in prayer. "WHY? For God's sake why, Tatsuki?! You have to know these people are evil!"

"They..." Eyes turning from him. she looked uncertain. A good sign. "They're not my favourite people. But _they're_ not the ones who stole the soul of my best friend... My best friend who's name was Ichigo Kurosaki."

Just like that, all her lingering doubt was gone, replaced with wrath and intent nearly as bitter as Zatsua's. Knowing now that his choice was the right one, Ichigo slowly knelt down, touching his empty body and feeling his soul merge with it once more. Completely powerless of course, but he didn't _want_ power here. "There, see? I _am_ Ichigo Kurosaki! I'm your friend, a human being! I just have the ability to leave my body and turn into a Shinigami!"

"STOP. IT." Thunder filled those brown eyes, blending with reluctant tears and boiling over into a raging storm. "Stop it, stop it! Stop imitating him, you bastard! He isn't what you are! He's not a death god!"

The rant had now captured whatever attention Chad and Reeve had been devoting to the gate, both staring in a mixture of shock and sorrow. Sensing their gaze, Ichigo understood. Though lacking his own dogi, he gave a traditional bow anyway. "Tatsuki... _I am me_. If the only way for me to prove that to you is this... then let's do it. I promise not to cry this time."

He could see the barest hint of a smile coming on at that reminder, a good memory even if it hadn't been so great at the time... then, like the memory, the smile was quickly banished. "...Alright. Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you talk and look like my best friend."

"I never thought you would", he chuckled sadly, heart already sinking. "By the way, you look good with long hair." _This is way worse than any brainwashing they could've done. It really was her own decision to make. Only one way out of this for either of us._

"...Thanks. Are you ready?"

Before or after learning about Shinigami and Hollows, Ichigo had never been a religious person. Even now, when some Shinigami spoke reverently of the 'Spirit King' whose power apparently held the Soul Society's dimension together from his own hidden realm, he remained skeptical as to whether that truly counted as a divine power, or just another powerful example of the Shinigami.

But now, as Ichigo Kurosaki raised both arms into the familiar karate stance from so long ago, he took a moment to dash off a desperate prayer to the Spirit King whatever he may be, and whatever powers might be higher than Him... before ducking his head down and charging into battle once more.

* * *

><p>Patching up Omaeda's wounds had been a simple matter for Inoue Orihime. He had merely taken a few deep cuts from the giant knight, and his skin was thick enough that it would not have crippled him either way.<p>

Something told her she would need to use those powers more extensively before the current battle was over, one way or another.

The situation was impossible. From her spot on the valley floor she could see Adre and Barton on a new spire of rock trying and failing to stop the 2nd squad captain, Soifon, from reaching them. Despite all of the princess' efforts, every 'dream-beast' was slain by the golden fingernail of Suzemibachi, first the knights, then a great serpent, then a formless mass showing just how badly her concentration was slipping. Soon, she would run out entirely.

Adre Gryuryana would die. Soifon showed no mercy to any enemy, not even to young girls. And Barton Eishinchi would follow shortly after.

_It's not the ones without power who get in the way_, Rukia had told her once. _It's the ones without the will to act._

She couldn't let it happen. She had to act. Not even if it meant provoking the wrath of the blue-haired assassin currently flash-stepping around Adre's latest guardian, an even sloppier creation than the last one. She had to gamble on the fact that Shinigami were sworn not to kill humans, as demonstrated moments ago.

Ichigo wouldn't like it of course, but she had made up her mind. Silently apologizing, she left Omaeda looking confused, running closer to the spire where the latest dream-beast had fallen with a shriek.

"You!", Adre shouted up at Soifon, making a warding gesture but unable to dream up anything more. She was fighting exhaustion and losing. "Go away! You go away, now! Go away or I'll crush you!"

The captain was not impressed. She flickered over to the rock spire in one breath, bearing several minor injuries along her uniform but nothing impairing. Something was driving at her, barely-coherent manifestations of the princess' will, but it was nothing more than a stiff breeze.

"ADRE!"

It was the loudest Orihime could ever recall shouting anyone's name, save for when Ichigo died. But it had gotten her attention and even caused Soifon to stop momentarily and look down at her in scorn.

She didn't care. She needed to talk to Adre. It was the only way to possibly save her life. "Hime-chan...? What are you doing?"

"You get down here, NOW!", Inoue scolded, putting all her stress into her voice and glad to see it come out as intended. "You have been a very BAD girl! If you don't come down here right now, I'll... I'll never have another tea party with you ever again!"

Adre's eyes were misted but she looked torn. "Bu...bu... but my mommy said to-"

"She didn't mean it!", Inoue assured her. "Don't worry! Just come down here, and we'll find your mother and she'll explain things! Just leave everything to me!"

She spread her arms wide. It was working. She could actually see the three knights manifesting beside their princess, not to fight Soifon but to guide. Each gave a silent nod of approval.

Then, giving Soifon a red eye, she ran to the edge of the rock spire and jumped, falling into Inoue's arms and bowling her over. The accidental collision made their skin touch by accident for a few brief seconds, and she felt the familiar drawing sensation on her soul's energy.

And _welcomed_ it. That was the key, she had realized at last, as if a great fog had been lifted from her brain. That was how to defeat the Spirit Eaters without killing them, without killing humans.

She had seen the difference in Reeve. Everyone who had been at the train battle had, and after many sessions of draining Ichigo Kurosaki, the formerly wicked young man had grown a conscience that was a warped mirror of the man he'd drained, enough to make him realize the wrongness of his actions. To drain a human or Shinigami was to gain bits and pieces of their knowledge, their personality as well as their power. It changed them, for better or worse.

And Adre had drained her more than once, for that was how she had learned about her friends and how she felt about them. Now Inoue made sure to fill her mind with kind memories, her favourite moments. Times when she had felt like the luckiest person in the world to have people like Ichigo and Chad and Rukia and everyone else at her side, supporting her.

When it began to actually _hurt_, she drew apart. She saw there were still tears in the princess' eyes, who now buried her head into the older girl's shoulder.

"Soten Kisshun", she whispered gently, imposing the orange barrier between herself and Soifon to discourage any further attacks. Her eyes closed, and she began to rock the princess back and forth. "Don't worry now. Everything's going to be alright."

"I...", she heard Adre whimper, though partly muffled by her shoulder. "I don't...?"

"Hush. No one's going to hurt you. I promise."

Even Omaeda had been stunned into temporary silence by this display, but it did not last. Soifon seemed willing to let the princess live so long as she remained docile, but now turned her gaze to the last enemy.

This one, Inoue realized she could not save. Stooped and withered from a lifetime as Zatsua's lab rat, Barton Eishinchi looked as resigned as she had ever seen a person, standing there leaning on his cane. He had not drained many Shinigami or Hollows, and those few he had drained had not provided him with any memories or feelings that might change his mind concerning his fate.

"He's coming", the white-haired Spirit Eater said gravely, nodding to the massive rock pillar Chad had thrown to block his living shadow. Cracks had stretched along its length and tiny bits had begun to rain down, one striking Omaeda on the head. "He's angry. You _must_ kill me now Shinigami, or _he_ will kill the girls and your lieutenant."

"Tempting", the blue-haired assassin remarked. "But that offer will not save your life."

_Suzemibachi_ struck the man across his left cheek, the golden stinger leaving no blood but the butterfly-shaped death mark. Backing away from the spire, Inoue held Adre tighter to block her eyes, so that she would not see her comrade die.

A frail wind blew across the valley and for a moment she thought Barton had been spared. But the 2nd squad captain had no qualms about slaying a girl Adre's age, and likewise for a senior citizen. The second strike seemed to freeze the man in place. Everyone but Adre saw the man's cane shatter, his eyes fade shut as his body fell into the dirt.

Soifon looked strangely disappointed. "All enemies defeated", she announced to what seemed like no one until Inoue remembered the 2nd squad were in hiding spots all around the valley. "Cordon off the area, make sure no one leaves. We're going in after Yoruichi-sama."

"Er", her lieutenant stammered, about to make a protest about his wound. "Of course, taich-"

"Heh heh heh..."

The laughter was unnaturally loud. It sounded to Inoue like a primitive Hollow trained to speak human, and an evil one at that.

"Heh heh ha ha..."

The pillar finally exploded. The darkness beyond it did not stretch out to eviscerate everyone as they had feared, but merely swept past to flow up the wall of the spire to its master's body. Only Soifon was close enough to see the real details, and for that she was grateful- she had seen too many revolting sights on the battlefield, but any of the others present would be seeing this in their nightmares for years after.

"Heh heh heh..."

Barton Eishinchi's corpse had risen. It was the source of the laughter, though whoever was doing so was unfamiliar with his vocal cords. One arm reached up without the aid of the broken cane, pulling on the dead man's snow-white beard, and pulling it free.

It was a beard of over thirty years' growth, and was not meant to be torn away like that. A normal human would never have had the strength or the resistance to pain to do such a thing, but now there were only a handful of wispy hairs left, and multiple spots where he had begun to bleed as a result of having the hair ripped out so violently.

"Heh heh ha ha ha..."

Finally, the body began to float, and the eyes forced themselves back open wide. They were not Barton Eishinchi's eyes. They did not even look like human eyes, but rather burning yellow coals with tiny centers of the very darkest black. Without the beard he looked younger, though it was easy to tell the body was technically still dead and would soon be looking much the worse for wear.

"Pleased to meet you, Shinigami", the voice's owner announced shrilly using Barton's throat. "You can call me _O Home Sombra._"

* * *

><p>Mefist Kiatenin had not lived a normal life, and little enough in it to take pleasure in. He had learned long ago to find pleasure his own way, and found the very best of those was watching the genuine shock in the faces, voices, and body language of others whenever he revealed himself through a disguise.<p>

He'd gotten bored, waiting here in the darkness. But his anticipation of what was coming was nearly as good as the event itself no doubt would be. The shock was all, watching the fear and surprise on their faces when they realized the person they'd been talking to casually and sharing secrets with was not their friend at all, but a monster wearing their friend's face.

Oh how he loved it, that moment of slow comprehension, then complete panic. It was far better and more satisfying than anything he could drain from them by touch. If Lanis had not promised him such a prize in the coming battle, he might have skipped out on it entirely, gone back to terrorizing Soul Society in Inoue Orihime's form. Let the fools try and sort _that_ out, for it had become clear to him even from their brief encounter that the cinnamon-haired girl was the very best kind of disguise.

The kind no one suspected. The complete innocent. Not once in her life had the real Inoue killed or laughed maniacally, and he had enjoyed doing both acts while in that form, so much that it completely offset the strange discomfort he normally felt when taking on a female form.

Now he was facing that discomfort again, without anyone to terrorize to offset it. But they were coming. He licked his borrowed lips in the rafters and watched the plan unfold.

Two figures sprinted beneath him into the main chamber, one of which he realized was Reeve Pastell.

He snorted. Was that kid playing his own game, or had he actually switched sides like everyone said? It didn't matter. Though he could appreciate someone who only acted for their own gain or amusement, Pastell had never struck him as the sort who really allowed himself to enjoy his work in the criminal underworld of Naruki City. There was always that lingering morsel of doubt that slowed him down... and now that was going to cost him.

The other one had a mop of brown hair and a body more muscular than Reeve or Mefist's borrowed one. Two strange-looking carapaces of black and white hugged his arms, making them look even beefier.

Now, the first shock. The two boys had run in and spotted the form of Yoruichi Shihoin, brown skin and purple hair hanging from the special restraints Mayuri had provided. Most of the time she had slept, trying to sustain herself against multiple drainings by various Spirit Eaters for the days she had been here, but now she was wide awake, though with a heavy metal plate blocking her mouth.

Sado was already headed over to pry the restraints apart with his raw strength. Mefist shook his head and chuckled to himself. Idiots. He should have gone with the original plan, but that wouldn't have allowed him to drag this out for multiple shocks in a row.

Shock two. "Waaait!", he shouted down to them in the Shinigami woman's normally sultry voice, dropping down from the rafters with a perfectly-coordinated leap. "Don't be fooled! That's one of the Spirit Eaters posing as me!"

Disappointing. Neither one of them wore their emotions well, it looked like. Still, the expression on Reeve's face was good. He looked smug, glad to have been proven right, snapping his fingers and sending up a tiny flame. "Oh yeah! I knew something about this was a little_ too_ easy. That's Mefist Kiatenin, right? The shapeshifter?"

Chad shrugged. Apparently he didn't talk as much as his allies either. Still, he looked relieved they'd avoided making a terrible mistake. "How did you escape?"

"Really?", Mefist laughed cheerfully in Yoruichi's own voice. "Are you so stupid I have to draw you a picture? I can turn into a cat. Those restraints are meant to hold a Shinigami. I knew they'd try to bait you with a fake, so I waited here. Where's Ichigo?"

"Fighting", Chad said regretfully. "Fighting Tatsuki. He said to go on ahead."

"A shame", Mefist agreed, trying to sound sympathetic. "Still, this is our chance to stop their plan. I can get into the basement levels, and stop Zatsua from completing her transformation!"

"Sounds good", Reeve nodded. "I know from my boss Ichigo's memories how good you are. Do ya know how many of them are left?"

"Only one now", Mefist said brightly. "That crazy kid with the gray eyes."

"Lanis Adelkus", Reeve sighed loudly. "Wonderful. Still, together we oughta be able to take him down even without the boss."

"Count on it." Confident he'd gained their trust, he paced over to where his twin had been shaking her head _NO_ ever since he'd shown up. He gave her the best scornful glare her small face could manage. "...I know Ichigo doesn't like to kill. But if we leave this bastard here, he'll just come after us again. Better to end him now."

He'd guessed correctly- neither one of them looked excited about that idea. "Fine. _ I'll_ do it. I just hope you two aren't wimps when it comes to someone who can actually fight back."

"We're not wimps", Reeve protested, more annoyed by the taunt than he'd thought. "Boss just doesn't like killing humans. Although for a guy like that I'd understand if you make an exception- he's even more twisted than I was. We won't stop you."

He sniffed arrogantly. "Like you _could_ stop me."

A shame. Their terror would have been so much more delicious if he'd managed to trick one of them into killing Yoruichi with their own hands. Ah, well. It would be just as guilt-wracking for them to learn they'd watched and done nothing while one of their friends was murdered. He would make it fast, leaving no room for suspicion.

With the grace of his borrowed form, he glided over to his twin, pleased by the way she thrashed about in vain as he drew close. A very beautiful lady, to be sure. Exotic, and experienced in more ways than one. This was the body of a career fighter, a former Shinigami assassin who put most of Soul Society's finest to shame with her skills before her exile.

"At least you get to die in a beautiful body, impostor", Mefist teased, still trying to sound like the original before placing elegant brown hands on elegant brown throat. The spirit drain effect would keep her docile while he exerted this body's great strength and cracked the vital bones.

He pressed down. There was a twisting sensation, a _crunch_...

The body went completely still. Dead. It seemed to waver for a moment, like a flame caught in a blast of wind, lost colour and detail until it was merely a white afterimage, then vanished entirely.

Even in-character, the outburst could not be stopped. "What?!"

The assassin's reflexes saved him. As a stream of fire flew out and incinerated the restraints along with the entire wall, he found himself darting over to the left out of the way faster than his mind could follow, the heat of the blast still warming his back.

But that did not stop Sado's left fist from taking him head-on, throwing him roughly into the far wall.

"Nice try!", he heard Reeve call out to him.

_Impossible. Impossible. How could they have seen through it? I was flawless!_

"Wh-what the heck was that? Why did you guys attack me?"

"Save it", his fellow Spirit Eater cut him off angrily. "We both know it's you, Kiatenin. You always overplay your hand, and while Ichigo remembers that cat lady being a bit high and mighty, she would never call Chad stupid... well, at least not without a really good reason."

"You are not Yoruichi", Sado confirmed bluntly. Whatever anger he felt at being insulted and deceived was hidden well, and there seemed to be no shock or fear in him at all. "You are the one who took Orihime's form, and slaughtered those wounded Shinigami at the barracks."

Incredible. No one had ever seen through him so quickly before. This time, the shock was all his. It was still delicious... but not as much fun as watching their faces when the time had come to reveal himself would have been. _Note to self: get more practise in female forms. There's obviously something in the stance or mannerisms I'm missing._

"Damn", he confessed at last, organs and skin already melting down into a new form. "Guess you really have gone over, haven't you kid?"

Reeve merely looked bemused. "I don't recall ever saying I was on your side, dude. I look out for _me_, or at least I used to. And 'cause of that, I'll give ya the same offer my boss would've made; stand down. Let us pass, and we won't hurt ya."

"Won't hurt me?" His voice felt strange and inharmonious now that it was halfway between forms. "What fun would that be? Come _on_, kid. You should know by now that for me, it's all about the thrill of the hunt, watching that shock on people's faces."

"Worth a shot", the younger man noted. "Ichigo would have wanted us to at least give you one chance to give up before we kill you, Kiatenin. Oh, and don't bother turning into Rutori, Narahama or especially Orihime now. Ichigo might not be able to attack something that looks like her, but we sure as hell can, right big guy?"

Chad merely slapped his two armoured limbs together as a show of solidarity. "Agreed. Some Hollows use that cowardly trick as well. We've learned not to be fooled by it."

"Picky picky", Mefist's distored voice blurbled. "Very well. Maybe this form will be more to your liking?"

At once, the revolting goop he'd turned into shed itself. Within lay his newest borrowed form, and both his opponents took an involuntary step back. Then another step, and another.

His handsome new face grinned like it was born to. A third shock, one even more potent than the first two. His original plan might have been wrecked, but so long as he could continue to terrorize these two, nothing else mattered.

"Impossible", Chad choked out, instincts and memories forcing him back, so that Mefist could at last see his eyes through all that hair. "He was locked away! Ichigo said he was gone!"

"No freakin' _way_", Reeve agreed fearfully, eyes wide. Possessing the majority of the Kurosaki boy's memories, he would be even more affected.

After all, it was Kurosaki who had defeated this form's original. Mefist could see that much in its memories. It had been the battle of Kurosaki's life, the one he would never be able to fight again with the powers he had sacrificed all to use just once.

"Do not be so sceptical", Mefist said, trying out his new male voice and finding it good, a much better fit than the cat woman's. Low and confident, perfect for mocking a defeated foe. He liked it, and the tunic-outfitted body was just as lean and muscular as hers had been, if not more. "Surely by now, neither of you are foolish enough to entertain the idea that this was not all according to my plan?"

And these two already looked defeated. For all of their power and will not to give up, they had always thought to leave a battle such as this to their friend Ichigo, to merely support him through the toughest battles as best they could.

Not once in dreams or nightmares had they thought they would ever again see the face of Sosuke Aizen.

* * *

><p>"Impossible", Lanis Adelkus snarled, smashing the screen showing Mefist's confrontation. "How could I not have predicted this? <em>Meu mestre <em>will be furious."

"I _am_ pretty tough to predict", a familiar feline voice came to him from the rafters above. "And I'm sure you've had other things on your mind, Mr. Spirit Eater."

He looked into the darkness above and saw nothing. Nothing with his naked eyes, but by reaching out with his _Ianzamento_, he could sense the web of possibilities radiating out from the individual named Yoruichi Shihoin.

Most of them ended with his death. He would have to be quick and cunning to select the choices that resulted in his victory. But at least now he could bring his full focus onto her, excluding all other concerns now that the rest of the intruders were all occupied with their own battles. Until now, he had been the one guiding them by opening some gates and closing others, activating gas traps and worse to bar the way to him or to Zatsua, all in accordance with the futures he had seen.

Now he pitched the doctor's glasses away, and drew the Zanpakuto belonging to the late Rutori Igenari. "Tough. Not impossible. Not for me, Mrs. Shinigami."

"Well that's rude", came her reply from the rafters. "I'm not married. Normally I'd be content to go back and forth like this for a while, but I really do need to hurry if I want to stop Zatsua. You understand?"

"Completely", he agreed. He meant it. Many of his visions indeed showed the woman defeating him and then pulling the plug on Zatsua's life tank before her transformation completed itself. He knew _that_ time was mere hours away, but this Shinigami woman could kill him in less than a second. "How did you escape? I was focusing on your future the entire time to watch for escape attempts, and I never saw that."

"You had a vision of me having my neck broken by someone who looked just like me", she suggested flatly. "That did happen... but it was an illusion. Old Shinigami trick that uses a combination of flash-stepping and Kido. Trade secret."

"Very clever."

"Very simple. Sorry, no more time to chat."

The strike flew down from above blisteringly fast. A human would never have been able to guard in time, but he had seen it kill him several seconds before that, and he blocked firmly. The blurry brown figure wasted no time shifting around to his other side, releasing a barrage of punches and kicks capable of breaking concrete.

Lanis parried every single one and nearly took her arm off with his backswing. Her rapid flips took her back towards a wall, breaking another screen as she pushed off towards him into a dive, which he leaped before slicing downward, bisecting the floor but missing his target again.

"Doesn't matter", he told himself, focusing his gray eyes on the Shinigami woman once more. "I have already selected the outcome of this battle that I desired the most. Jutani Zatsua will transform from her repeated G-cell infusions. She will consume the two worlds of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo and all those who dwell there. _Then_, she will slowly starve from lack of food, and be left alone in the endless void she left behind. Eternal starvation and pain in an infinite black. _That_ will be her final punishment for treating us like lab animals."

"Quite the vision", his opponent agreed, flipping back to her feet once more in a different combat stance. "Almost makes me want to see it happen. Almost."

"Sadly, you won't", he shook his small head. "You die before any of this comes to pass. That is the vision that I have chosen. All that remains is to carry it out. You cannot fight fate, Yoruichi Shihoin. No one can. _Wyrd bid ful Araed._"

* * *

><p>AN: So yeah... been a while. I won't deny I lost interest in this for a time along with Bleach in general, but I do hope to be able to restart it along with Ogre Battle and resolve all those story threads I've been trying to build up and weave together. At least I was able to start this one with a bang.


	31. Part 31: Serpents of Despair

**Part 31: Serpents of Despair**

* * *

><p>Jutani Zatsua drifted in the modification tank without sensation. Complete immersion in the strange green-coloured liquid was a necessary step to finishing activting all of her remaining G-cells, but it normally would have been quite boring, merely waiting for the various machines to complete their work.<p>

Fortunately, she had other means of entertainment. The telepathic sense she had experienced to compensate for her sealed vocal cords had not vanished as more changes began. It had expanded, allowing her to sense the thoughts of others as well as communicate with them. Now she let her altered body hang limp in the tank, scattered memories fading as she reached out to the nearest active mind.

Thoughts of battle were everywhere in the lab. Always decisions being made as to which direction to dodge, which kind of strike to use, and a strong, adamant determination from every single mind she touched not to lose and die.

Closest to her was the one who had until moments ago been overseeing the operation- Lanis Adelkus. Though young, the constant visions his _Ianzamento_ brought him coupled with the pain of his tests had quickly hardened him into a dedicated fighter in the cause. The wispy gray eyes that saw everything and nothing were currently occupied focusing on a Shinigami possessing uncommon speed and agility even by their standards, and even his gift had only produced a stalemate so far.

_Yoruichi_, she reminded herself, startled that it had taken that long to remember. _Yoruichi Shihoin, the murderer of your family. So she managed to escape after all._

Reluctant as she was to touch the evil assassin's mind, she saw enough surface thoughts to know that Shihoin knew their plan, and did not wish to waste much time fighting Lanis. Seeing every strike blocked by a borrowed Zanpakuto only intensified her frustration.

**Three hours**, Zatsua sent to her gleefully, though in truth she had no idea how long it would be before the transformation finished. That mental intrusion acted as a distraction allowing Lanis to get in his first hit on her, cutting along her outstretched left arm and drawing blood. She could feel her loyal Spirit Eater's increased confidence, even if he had no idea how she had just helped him. Lanis had only followed his vision, paying no mind to what had caused that sudden opening, only that it would happen exactly then.

A bit further away she sensed a great deal of fear and worry from two more intruders with similar mops of white and brown hair. They were facing Mefist Kiatenin in some new form he had found, and obviously a powerful one. Powerful in mind as well as body, for she could sense the shapeshifter making the same mistake he'd made a few times since awakening his gift, and falling too deeply into the mindset of his current form.

**Careful**_, _she sent to him, knowing this would not be poor-timed distraction- the two he was fighting looked too scared to do much even given an opening. **You're letting the memories of this Sosuke Aizen control you. He is too arrogant, much like you. Remember who you are, Kiatenin.**

There was a brief sense of reluctant gratitude from him, then he returned to attacking the intruders, no longer caring if he wrecked the chamber they had been holding Yoruichi in, clearly enjoying the terror the face he'd taken provoked in them.

Then... _ah_. _The lovers' spat. My dear Number One._

Ichigo Kurosaki, the young 'Substitute Shinigami' who had caused them so much trouble, had finally found the one he'd come to rescue. A pity she did not seem keen on being rescued, and an even greater shame that he was using his human body for the fight, resulting in something more akin to a karate sparring match between two extremely fit humans than the superhuman conflicts going on elsewhere in the facility. What it lacked in power it made up for with the passion in the minds of both combatants.

Zatsua laughed silently in her own mind. If he thought doing that would stir up some feelings of mercy in Tatsuki Arisawa's heart, he was sorely mistaken. He was still just a Shinigami using a human's body as a meat puppet- he was no more of a real human than any of the Soul Society captains.

Still... she could sense _something_ from Tatsuki. Despite being granted immense power she was holding back her true might in every punch and kick, and with a start Zatsua realized she'd been wearing black gloves to prevent herself from draining Ichigo whenever their arms touched.

She could tell her to take them off and use her _Ianzamento _right away, but it was easy to tell she wouldn't obey. This was a deeply personal fight, the lingering regrets likely caused by having to fight something that looked and sounded just like her old friend. Not unlike the weakness Kiatenin often worked in his poor victims, taking on the voice and appearance of their closest friends and then full advantage of their hesitation to kill them as well.

**Do not falter,** Zatsua sent. **That thing may look like the human friend you once knew, but he is a Shinigami now. Ever since he became one of them, he has done nothing but hurt you and lie to you. I am sorry- the change cannot be reversed. You know what you must do, Number One.**

An acknowledgement came back to her, stronger than Kiatenin's had been. The Arisawa girl had always valued her independence, and to pester her too much would have the opposite effect... but there was no harm in keeping her thoughts focused on the real enemy, particularly one so intent on messing with her mind in a less direct fashion.

**And you, Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo, have come too far to turn back. You were warned not to interfere. Now it is too late. Now you will all die, and it shall be your fault.**

She sensed only defiance from Kurosaki, an equally stubborn resolve not to fail his mission here. Of all of the minds she felt, he radiated the greatest determination to win. Admirable... but mistaken. It would take quite some time to crush that.

There was a fourth duel going on outside, she realized. A Shinigami captain and her oafish lieutenant, working alongside the human girl Ichigo was friends with, who had demonstrated miraculous healing powers made all the more unusual by the fact that no special treatment had been given to grant her this ability. If only one of her Spirit Eaters had shown such a gift-

The Spirit Eaters there...

She did not feel her eyelids widen out of instinct. Adre Gryuyana had closed down much of her mind for the moment, as if sliding into one of her frequent naps, but the other mind Zatsua barely recognized.

It reminded her most of Kiatenin, but spoke of a far greater loathing, a pure loathing of all that lived. This other mind was an evil shadow that consumed all in its wake, one that was painful to even graze telepathically never mind send a message to, though it at least seemed to be focused on fighting the enemy as it should.

Four separate battles. She would do what she could to tip the balance in the favour of her people, even if that was limited to distractions or sending encouragement and advice. Despite all these setbacks, she was satisfied to learn that of all the powerful Shinigami in Soul Society, the 'youngest one', or the most recently 'created' was the one closest to ruining their plans. _Still got some human spirit in him, no pun intended. He has not yet allowed this world's archaic rules and codes of honour to bind his hands, nor permitted their evil leaders to control him._

All the same, he would die. She could feel the energy stirring in her now, along with the hunger that was her constant companion despite feasting on several of Mayuri's failed experiments earlier. In a few short hours, she could satiate this hunger by devouring the intruders who survived their battles.

Then the main course.

Jutani Zatsua drifted, unmoving, waiting for her time.

* * *

><p>The state was a remarkable facsimile of being dead. A Zanpakuto spirit would be similar with such sensation, but had still sank far enough into a void of sensory deprivation that it took a great surge of energy to wake him.<p>

Kyoka Suigetsu had no eyes or other active senses beyond the spiritual, but the spike of energy was unmistakable. There was no way to know how much time had passed since he had last felt his master's energy fading away.

Now it was back. It felt slightly different, but there could only be one like him. Suigetsu knew that much of his old master- no other Shinigami possessed power quite like his. It was a big part of the reason for Suigetsu's loyalty to him.

Nothing else could have filled his heart- or whatever a Zapakuto spirit had for a heart- with such joy. His master had returned! Returned, and was his old self again, without that horrible Hogyoku that had driven him to cast Suigetsu away, destroying the sword that had served loyally at his side for centuries.

But now his master needed help. He was engaged somewhere in an underground complex out in the western desert. Even if Kyoka Suigetsu no longer possessed a physical base- that sword had been destroyed- he would still do whatever it took to help his master. The Zanpakuto sensed no Arrancars in this dimension, they had all left his master like rats deserting a sinking ship. His assistance, his 'perfect hypnosis' ability, would be appreciated once more. He could not hide his joy at this reunion.

Kyoka Suigetsu sped towards the battlefield.

* * *

><p>"Thanks so much for getting rid of that annoying old fool", Barton Eishinchi's body said shrilly. "He did nothing but hold me back. He wouldn't even let me defend our mutual container this time- good thing all you did was kill his mind, not his body."<p>

Sensing a greater power at work, Soifon retreated a few paces and clenched a fist. "You are his _Ianzamento_?"

The withered face smiled gruesomely. Without his white beard, his cane or his fatigued kindness, he looked like a completely different man. A monster. "Indeed. I am his living shadow, O Home Sombra, no longer confined to that half-life. Now I can finally do what he always stopped me from doing, and destroy all of his enemies."

And once more, the shadow of death fell across the valley of stones, reaching for all O Home Somra could see.

Inoue Orihime was ready. She had already seen the dreadful power of this Ianzamento when it was being used by someone who _didn't _want to kill. With quick gestures and words she placed layers of powerful barriers over Omaeda, Adre, and herself, then turned to see the captain leap from the rock spire as it collapsed.

Soifon had a different method- she simply moved too fast for the jagged shadow to catch, leaping from rock to rock in the blink of an eye, flash-stepping away whenever it got too close. This kept up for several minutes, as it was clear which of his targets O Home Sombra wanted to kill first, content to leave the others trapped in their barriers unable to move against him.

Then Inoue heard a sharp hissing noise and turned. And nearly screamed. There was another Shinigami behind her wearing a face-covering tunic and mask, one of the uniformed ninjas of the 2nd squad, who had lingered on the edge of the battlefield until now.

But he had not made the noise. The object in his hands had, an oval-shaped object with a tiny apeture at the front end, from which smoke had begun to billow as he threw it into the sky.

"Cloudy weather ahead", the assassin told her, his voice surprisingly gentle for one of Soifon's disciples. "Fear not, human."

Sure enough, after another minute of near-misses, the dozens of smoke bombs had resulted in dark gray clouds covering the sky, blocking out the sun in that area. Without the sun's rays, the living shadow faded and disappeared entirely.

Soifon stopped, turned, and gave a predator's smile at Barton's body. "A fair-weather enemy. Without light, you are helpless."

Not waiting for him to respond to those brief words, she flashed past the man, leaving behind the ominous butterfly mark on his exposed back... but neither had he been as slow to act as anticipated- his left arm shot up, grabbing her leg as she flew past and slamming her into the dust. Before she could get loose, a heavy knee was pressing down on her weapon hand, forcing it into the dirt where it could not move at all.

"A curious weapon, your Zanpakuto", O Home Sombra commented coldly. "Yet you've relied on it far too often in this battle, Shinigami. Someone needs to teach you a lesson."

Orihime saw her continue to struggle, but speed had always been the assassin's forte, not strength, and her opponent seemed to have been hiding much of it in reserve. Or...

She blinked in horror as the man bent over and roughly pulled Suzemibachi off Soifon's finger, ignoring her outcry of pain. Yes, Barton's body had been barefoot this entire time beneath his dark green tunic and belt, hermit's clothes really. His exposed feet had been touching the ground, and draining it the entire time. He had refused to use any of that stolen power until his death, but O Home Sombra did not feel the same way. While his feet were touching the earth, he would never become tired, and his strength would never ebb.

The insane grinning man stabbed the golden nail directly into the first mark, the one Soifon had made on Barton's cheek, coming away with blood... and _laughed_. "There. You just killed Barton Eishinchi a second time. Kill him a third and a fourth if you like, anything to keep that fool out of my way. You'll have to go retrieve your weapon first, though."

With that, he gave Suzemibachi a long toss into the distance, such a light object easily able to cover kilometers with that sort of strength behind it.

Its owner gave a cry of outrage and threw O Home Sombra aside in a move too quick for any but the two of them to truly follow. Reverting to the form of Hakuda, she came at him with a series of flying kicks, her speed again proving to be too much of an advantage for the man to counter. Strike after strike battered the man's grinning face, a hundred vicious punches and kicks, and he took it all like a mere summer rain washing over his withered body.

And each time, she flinched slightly as if _she'd_ been the one to take the hit!

"TAICHO! NO!", Omaeda tried to scream through the barrier. "Don't attack him with your fists! He's fighting barehanded! Every time you touch him, he'll drain you! Remember what the report said!"

Inoue was fairly sure the captain had noticed before her lieutenant had, but there were precious few options remaining. Giving another growl of frustration, she flew back unharmed in body.

Chuckling, O Home Sombra held up one bare foot. "Heh heh ha ha... _Damn_, that hurts. You get it now, don't you young lady? Your advantage lies in hand-to-hand combat, your blinding speed coupled with expert Hakuda and Shunpo techniques. But your hands _cannot_ touch my vital areas without me draining a small portion of your Reiatsu into myself, partially healing the damage and weakening you."

Putting one hand up, he felt at a bleeding mark on his chin where she had chopped him in the face beneath the first butterfly mark. "And if _that_ isn't enough to keep me standing through your admittedly quite painful hits, I can still drain energy from this dimension through my feet to perk me up. How long, Shinigami, before you simply run out of steam? Better question- _how_ long before that smoke shroud your squad created goes away, and the warm light of the sun returns to me, and I TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB?!"

Her squad must have heard that, because they chose that moment to release more such smoke bombs into the air, further blocking out the sun. Still, their supplies of those could not be unlimited.

Soifon, in the meantime, had turned the long sleeves of her assassin's outfit inside out. Though her upper arms were exposed, the light black cloth formed seamless gloves around her hands now, protecting them.

"Long enough", the 2nd squad captain grated out, fury gathering on her brow, fists clenching for a renewed assault. "But it doesn't matter whether you have your shadow or not, or whether you can drain my energy or not. None of that matters. What matters is, I swore I'd never lose to anyone other than Yoruichi-sama. And I will _not_ disappoint her by breaking that oath!"

* * *

><p>Ichigo Kurosaki had lost track of time. He had permitted himself to become lost in the endless blow and counterblow of a fighting style from a simpler time, before the Shinigami and Hollows had found their way into his life and changed it so radically. Though he would never regret any of it- his time with the Fullbringers had proven that to him- he could still take comfort in how familiar this felt, a relic from a happier day.<p>

Apparently Tatsuki had felt the same way, for even in his reverie he could notice the obvious openings and other mistakes in her routine. She would be content to let this moment carry on forever instead of moving on to the next step, like an eternal replay of their first match as children.

But all good things had to end at some point, and he did not even have to check to know his friends were probably engaged in their own battles against opponents who did _not _pull their punches. He could feel his human body starting to tire. The time was now.

"Is that not proof enough?", he asked imploringly, ducking her chop and coming back with a sweeping kick. "Isn't this proof that I'm the friend you knew?"

His friend's brown gaze only tightened. "Kiatenin can mimic someone's moves too. That doesn't mean he is them." Without hesitation she turned her next blocked punch into a grapple, spinning him around and slamming him into the hard metal floor. "You're _still _a Shinigami."

That had the ring of truth to it, even if he had chosen to use his human body for this fight. "Yeah, so what if I am?"

He slid out from beneath her follow-up strike and she did not pursue. They stared at each other across the chamber, guards up but neither willing to make the next move.

"I'm still me", he insisted. "I'm still the human Kurosaki Ichigo. Your friend!"

"I _did _have a human friend named Ichigo", she replied with a sad nod. "And that friend always stood up for what's right. He was always strong, even in fights where the odds were against him. He never lied to me!"

There it was, the core of the rift between them, the seed of discord the Spirit Eaters had built on to turn her against all Shinigami. Now more than ever, he would have traded just about anything to take back those lies, and it wasn't because it had started this. "Tatsuki... I only wanted to protect you!"

"And that's the difference between the human Ichigo and the Shinigami who took over his body one day", she claimed, eyes shut. "The human Ichigo knew me as well as I knew him. He knew I would rather die than be left out of something like that. He trusted me. _You_ don't."

"I always trust you", he countered, feeling a burning in his cheeks. "I just didn't think you could handle-"

"Couldn't handle the Hollows?", she asked almost mockingly. "Strange, isn't it, how _Don Kanonji_ gave me that chance to prove myself? Are you saying you had even less faith in me than _he_ did, when I'd barely known him before then?"

That left him stunned for a moment. He hadn't even known that Tatsuki and the phony 'Spirit Medium' Kanonji had ever interacted, much less worked together. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't know."

"Then maybe I should show you. _Raizer Deadly Magnum!_"

* * *

><p>"It's not him", Reeve Pastell shouted to make himself heard, to clear his head of the fear that had clouded it. "It might look and sound like him, but it's <em>not<em> him! More importantly, he doesn't have his Zanpakuto!"

In a similar mind, Chad Yasutora nodded to him across the spread of metal wreckage the room had become. He focused himself, asking whoever could hear for the strength to triumph. "Yes. That was his greatest edge during the Winter War. Now it is gone."

"Congratulations on mastering the blaringly obvious", the strange brown-haired clone remarked, advancing on them without a care in the world. "Yes, Kyoka Suigetsu is no longer with me. But I am still the one who brought down four Soul Society captains in one stroke, who brought down every enemy that has ever come before me. My greatest skill is swordsmanship, but even that would be nothing without the strength to back it up. Do you really believe two mere humans can match _me_, Sosuke Aizen, in hand-to-hand?"

"You're not Sosuke Aizen, you retard", Reeve called, touching his Spirit Eater tattoo and charging his own Ianzamento into a blade of pure flame. "You just took on his form and his memories." Blinked. "Hey, how the hell did you _do_ that, anyway? You would have to touch his skin to take his form, and we don't even know where he's being held."

"True", Mefist admitted, referring to the last accusation, not the first. "I gained this form from a _very_ interesting specimen in the lower levels of this lab. At some point during the Winter War, I- _He_ gained a protective coating of white from the Hogyoku implanted within his body. That was the first part of his gradual transformation into a true deity. When the time came, that cocoon fractured as his newly-evolved form emerged from it. Mayuri Kurotsuchi was eager to pick it up during his survey after the battle, for it contained lingering traces of Aizen's Reiatsu."

"Which you then absorbed", Reeve grunted. "Why am I not surprised that moron failed to clean up after himself?"

"Doesn't matter", Chad assured him, surprisingly calm considering who he was going up against. "We will win. He cannot drain spirit energy while transformed, correct?"

"Yeah", his new ally said nervously. Possessing all of Ichigo's memories of the Winter War, he could not quite banish the awful dread associated with that lean, smug face no matter what he told himself. "But I don't think he wants to drain us, dude. He just wants to kill us."

"I will strike from the left", the larger boy offered. "You from the right. Go!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Shunko<em>."

With that single word, all branching possibilities closed off and Lanis Adelkus gasped. The electric white power surging through Yoruichi Shihoin's body surpassed anything she had displayed before, and most of his visions now involved him trying to block and his blade shattering from her new strength. She had made sure to wear gloves in this fight, not that a hit from a Flash Cry-powered punch would be worth the small energy boost.

There was only one way out. Not having a common appetite for banter, he slid back and regarded the way his opponent's aura was already tearing up the room. "Here I thought you were a former stealth asssassin."

"I'm flexible", Yoruichi shrugged as her uniform was shredded, even her voice sounding intensified by this new technique. "I'm already the fastest Shunpo-user in all of Soul Society, so I decided to improve on other things. Have to do _something_ to pass the time."

"This will bring down the entire complex if you keep it up", he pointed out.

"Oh dear". Unable to put her hands to her cheeks for fear of blowing them off, she merely made her tone as sarcastic as possible. "It certainly would be a _terrible_ shame if all this fancy scientific equipment was destroyed in our battle and that ended up killing Zatsua before her transformation finished, wouldn't it?"

"Point taken", Lanis said sheepishly. "I suppose I shall have to play _my_ trump card as well then."

"Hm?" The white bolts surging around her seemed to calm for a moment, and she seemed genuinely interested despite the urgency of the situation. A career warrior could not help but be somewhat interested in seeing a new form of attack. "You have something else? What could possibly be better than you being able to predict the future?"

An invisible weight flew from his chest. For the moment, all possibilities indicated he would live through the next sixty seconds. "That was merely my Ianzamento, _Wyrd bid ful Araed_. But this sword I have been using to block most of your attacks thus far is a Zanpakuto, which once belonged to a young rookie Shinigami."

"Rutori Igenari", she confirmed, anger taking hold once again. "You Spirit Eaters killed him. You didn't just kill him, you _ate him alive_. All that's left of him are memories in your twisted brains."

"Yes", he agreed without any sign of remorse. What must be done must be done. "He was nowhere near the level of experience required for his blade to develop a Zanpakuto spirit and its corresponding Shikai, much less a Bankai."

"So it's just a hunk of lifeless metal", she said contemptuously. "How's that going to help you?"

His hand came up, and in an inversion of his 'peoples' usual tactic he made sure to use his sleeve to wipe the blade clean instead of his skin, then shake it off to minimize the chance that too much of the chemical would get on him. "With access to Mayuri Kurotsuchi's memories, I was able to locate his supply of a particular chemical compound that enhances one's reflexes. For a living being, anything more than a few drops results in unwanted side-effects. A second will feel like years, and in larger doses minutes will feel like _lifetimes_. One's entire sense of time is thrown out of balance. It takes a far stronger dose to affect a Zanpakuto."

"_That_ drug", Shihoin's feline eyes narrowed. "You didn't...?"

"I did", Lanis held up his newly-cleaned blade, watching it glimmer in the artificial light. "I focused my Ianzamento on it to learn the correct dosage of the drug that would make this blank blade's dormant consciousness believe that it had spent hundreds of years fighting at my side, even longer than with Rutori, though in truth we've only been fighting for a few minutes. I can feel its Spirit waking up even now, and even if I cannot use it to create a Bankai, the Shikai power I have seen in my visions will suffice. It is an ability uniquely suited to counter your talents. The only question that remains is... what shall I call my new Zanpakuto?"

"_Victim_", she suggested angrily, already preparing to charge. "Victim of a sick mind. Like Mayuri's."

He gave a faint smile. "I cannot help that, after absorbing so much knowledge from him. Much as I might try to be otherwise."

"Bullshit!"

The _Shunko_-enhanced punch still would have shattered his sword, bombarding it with bolts of white regardless. He swept it aside along with the rest of him, letting her demolish another console. This continued several more times, the Spirit Eater merely following the visions that would keep him and his sword intact until an opening finally appeared.

When it did, he took it. A second slash mark appeared on the Flash-Goddess' body, this one across her right hip. She immediately rose, crackling white fists flashing-

On emptiness.

She could not understand it, and that moment of indecision cost her another strike across her belly, this one bleeding more deeply than the other two. But it was the second one that counted, that made him sigh in relief and step away. His plan had worked. His vision had come to pass.

"Bullshit!", she repeated, too aggravated to come up with something more clever. "I just hit you dead on! Why did it go through you?!"

"You thought you did", Lanis offered meekly. "But in truth I had already moved out of the way. In fact, you are hearing these words about four seconds after I actually spoke them."

Her response was more rapid-fire attacks powered by the white lightning, which he used his visions to dodge, then rake his blade across her side once more. "You will feel the pain of the cut I just made... _now_. You see, my new Shikai distorts time. Rather, it throws off the time sense of its victim. Everything your senses tell you, every sound you hear, every sensation you feel, every sight you see is _delayed_. They all actually happened four seconds before you pick them up. That's after two cuts with this blade. With that new slash, I believe your time sense will become warped even more by my sword's power."

She refused to indulge him with a response. Instead he had to watch her changing face, a delayed reaction to everything he had just explained a full six seconds after he'd originally said it. There was a great deal of fear with comprehension, certainly, but also a strong determination not to give up no matter what strange effect she was under.

"_Pasado Desconecido_", he decided out loud, dodging around briskly and waiting for the sound to catch up with the asssassin's slowed ears. "Gaelic for 'Unknown Past'. That is what I shall call it. Appropriate, don't you think?"

Again, he would be disappointed if expecting a verbal answer. Perhaps she had already realized how foolish it made her look to respond to someone's words six seconds-

_SLASH_

_Eight_ seconds later. But that did not help with the physical actions being taken, so easily dodged now that they were delayed that way, despite her efforts to adjust and predict where he would go, so much that he no longer required to focus his Ianzamento on her to avoid damage. Slowed down to such a pace. Was there any worse doom for the fastest fighter in the world?

"I suppose the good news is, at this rate you won't feel any pain at all. I_ told _you that fate was inexorable, Yoruichi Shihoin."

The Shinigami woman was falling behind. And in not one of his visions would she triumph over this.

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks to all reviewers.


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